Futures Higher, Full Auction Results Awaited

Futures in South Korea higher, moving higher along with the general defensive tone in the region while a strong 10-year pre-issue auction helped support the sector. 10-year futures up 336 ticks at 126.90, while 3-year futures up 6 ticks at 110.86. Curve bull flattens, 10-year yield down 3.3bps at 2.005%, while 2-/30-year spread is 1bps tighther.

• South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 for the first time in six days Monday mainly due to fewer tests over the weekend amid growing concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country reported 532 more COVID-19 cases in the past down 24 hours, sharply down from 672 the previous day. The daily figure hovered above 600 in the past week as people have increased their activities in spring, which could spark another wave of the pandemic. Last week, South Korea decided to maintain the current level of social distancing rules through May 2 to contain the virus, while placing more restrictions on entertainment establishments, such as nightclubs and bars. From today, operations of entertainment establishments are banned in the greater Seoul area and the southeastern port city of Busan.
• There were media reports that Finance Minister Hong, who kept his job in the latest reshuffle, could be replaced in May. Markets will look ahead to PPI data on Tuesday and export data on Wednesday.