Yield curve inversion steepens
Markets are becoming increasingly bound together, elevating risk. With investors so transfixed on the Fed’s rate policy and the challenges in the near-term investment cycle, capital markets are tightening. Money supply is reversing course despite a buoyant service sector, giving the market pause for thought on the Fed’s rate hike plans. Brakes are still being…
Market watchers transfixed on the Fed and China to be blindsided?
OPEC+ remain committed to a 2m barrel production cut over 12 months. Manufacturing orders from China are down 40%. Aus Q3 company profits are down 12.4% quarter over quarter, the most significant drop in over 14 years. Markets on Monday remain elevated over positive signalling from the Fed and China’s Central Committee. Rising tides lift…
Is there still room left to run in oil and gas stocks?
The energy benchmark ETF NYSE:XLE (XLE) is up over 60% this year. Australian energy stocks have been on a similar skyward run. Woodside Energy Group ASX:WDS (WDS) is higher by 64% from the start of the year, is there room left to run in Australian energy stocks? Year in the books WDS is up by…
World markets reassured in the wake of China briefing
The S&P / ASX 200 opened 0.3% higher on Tuesday, with Chinese protests dissipating peacefully. Raw material price pressures return with the northern hemisphere winter and threaten a European economic revival. The upward trajectory of the Aussie market remains doubtful as high commodity prices start impacting customer demand. COVID Fatigue Chinese protests across the major…
Positives and negatives Amid Black Friday Records and China’s Civil Unrest
The S&P / ASX 200 opened 0.4% lower on Monday, unsettled over civil disturbances in China. Preliminary data out of the US suggests that the Black Friday sales were the biggest on record despite record inflation. With little data to go on this week, the market will battle these two divergent forces. The positives Preliminary…
Holiday rush on data
RBNZ raises interest rates by 0.75%, the most in a single setting on record. Key UK & Euro business conditions published on Wednesday, with markets anticipating a slowdown. US business and consumer sentiment is expected along with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes. NZ tightening the screws Across the Tasman Sea, The Reserve Bank…
Housing affordability in the spotlight
Following a drop of 14%, the S&P/ASX 200 has recovered ground and is down 4% on the year. Q3 2022 annual inflation is at a 30-year high of 7.3%. Weathering runaway inflation, the Australian resource-backed economy and the stock market demonstrate resilience. Cost of living The cost of living is outstripping wage inflation, creating a…
Bright spots to watch in the inflation data
After skyrocketing in 2021, container freight prices are retreating quickly to 2019 levels. US Gasoline prices are following a similar trajectory downward as the US remains well supplied. Bright spots in the supply and demand picture of the transportation fuel sector provide welcome relief to markets struggling with high heating and shelter bills. Blink, and…
Will gold shine again?
Core inflation in Europe and the UK is approximately 10% per annum. US inflation is not far behind; inclusive of energy, it is nearly 8%. Gold has long been seen as an effective hedge against inflation yet has stuttered around the 1,750 USD/MT mark for over two years. Gold rush Australia’s modern history is inexorably…
China reopening, fact or fiction?
The Hang Seng is up 20% this month. The S&P / ASX 200 is up 10% this month. Reports of China reopening buoy Australian resources and equities. Are the gains sustainable? Reports of China reopening There is no official statement from China regarding the relaxation of COVID restrictions. Despite this, some market watchers and participants…
