QUICK SUMMARY OF THURSDAY'S ASIAN SESSION...

Asian equities traded mostly lower on Thursday with the exception of Japan which benefited from the Yen weakness vs the US$. (Nikkei +0.48%, Hang Seng -1.08%, Shanghai Comp -0.09% & S&P/ASX -0.69%). Stronger PMI's out of China were unable to lift the markets as the Tech & Insurance sectors dragged the market lower. Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.8 vs expectations for the number to fall  to 51.4. Bond markets traded mostly in negative territory after stronger US data led Treasuries lower on Wednesday. JGB's managed a small recovery in afternoon trade to finish only 14 down from the previous session. Aussie Bonds printed fresh lows on the open before squeezing higher for the remainder of the day but still closed down 3. Treasuries looked precarious, hovering just above the previous days lows and down 3+ from the settlement. Volume was robust with 117k March contracts changing hands, although at least 20k of this was down to the roll. FX markets were in full swing with cable gaining 0.5% on the back of a Times article suggesting an Irish Border deal was close, while the Kiwi lost 0.5% on the back the weakest Business Confidence numbers since 2009. The Dollar was mixed gaining vs the Yen but losing out to the Euro. Elsewhere, Oil was higher as OPEC & Russia looked to extend supply cuts until the end of 2018 and gold was holding just above the previous days low. 

-Key Headlines:
-Japan Industrial Production Data M/M +0.5% vs +1.8% exp, pvs -1.0%. Y/Y +5.9% vs +7.1% exp, pvs +2.6%.
-New Zealand ANZ Data Business Confidence -39.3, pvs -10.1. Activity Outlook +6.5, pvs +22.2.
-UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Nov) -12 vs -11 exp, pvs -10; 16-month low
-UK Lloyds Business Barometer (Nov) +24, pvs +26
-Australia Building Approvals M/M (Oct) +0.9% vs -1.8% exp, pvs +1.5%
-Australia Private Sector Credit M/M (Oct) +0.4% vs +0.4% exp, pvs +0.3%
-Bank of Korea Base Rate +1.5% vs +1.5% exp, pvs +1.25% First hike since 2011
China PMI Data Manufacturing 51.8 vs 51.4 exp, pvs 51.6. Non-Manufacturing 54.8, pvs 54.3
-The PBoC set the yuan mid-point at 6.6034 against the Dollar
-The PBoC injected 150 Bln yuan via 7-day reverse repos; injected 120 Bln yuan via 14-day reverse repos; injected 10 Bln yuan via 63-day reverse repos.