Unlikely to be a great year for Index huggers
MARKETS Investors will have little time to ease back into the swing of things with a full slate of labour market data to digest. The week’s main event will be Friday’s employment report for December; however, given the absence of Fedspeak since the December FOMC meeting, Wednesday’s minutes from that meeting will also be a…
Pre Monday Open: As we step into 2023
MARKETS Investors will have little time to ease back into the swing of things with a full slate of labour market data to digest. The week’s main event will be Friday’s employment report for December; however, given the absence of Fedspeak since the December FOMC meeting, Wednesday’s minutes from that meeting will also be a keen policy plot…
Good Bye 2022
MARKETS Stocks in Asia were mixed Friday, with China-linked markets trading higher. Japan’s Nikkei gave up its early morning gains and ended flat, while India’s Nifty 50 – the best performer in Asia this year – ended 0.5% lower. European equities are trading lower this morning, with the STOXX 600 looking to close the year…
A sigh of relief on the penultimate trading day of 2022
MARKETS US stocks are trading markedly higher on Thursday as sentiment rebounds on the back of higher-than-expected weekly jobless claims – amidst little liquidity on the final days of trading for this year. Indeed it’s back to the ole faithful; “bad news is good.” Investors are heaving a sigh of relief on the penultimate trading day…
A Shudder of Geopolitical Risk
US stocks are again lower on Wednesday as thin liquidity and geopolitical headlines exacerbate inflation and monetary policy concerns, as investors cast a wary eye on the outlook for next year. Against a backdrop of low-volume trading and an empty data docket, this week’s unscheduled news from China and Russia introduces an unexpected shudder of…
Reopening Rekindles Inflationary Spirits
MARKETS Stocks are lower on Tuesday as US markets reopen after Christmas. At the same time, concerns over the well-entrenched 2022 wall of worry list, including Fed policy endgame, inflation, growth, and the prospect of a recession in 2023, dominate investors’ psyches during the final trading days of the year. Investors hoping for a year-end…
US future open higher as China to to scrap inbound quarantine rules
MARKETS U.S. stock futures rose at Asia open on follow-through from a relatively benign PCE last Friday, but this is the time of year when more questions are asked than quality answers provided Any sign of ebbing of inflation constraint for U.S. equities is incredibly significant; remember, as recently as late summer, it was not…
Pre Open: A Cycle Like No Other
US STOCK MARKETS US stocks traded a touch higher Friday as investors positioned around and reacted to what turned out to be a remarkably benign November PCE inflation report – an event that perhaps should have elicited more Christmas cheer for all to hear than what we have actually experienced. While inflation may be receding,…
Off-Cycle earnings attract much attention + Polar vortex
MARKETS US stocks are trading notably higher, fueled by better-than-feared results from two economic bellwethers – FDX and NKE – plus an encouraging consumer confidence survey. Off-cycle earnings results can attract a lot of attention due to the dearth of information coming through the pipes. The favourable results also come at a significant junction for…
Higher Global Yields & A Bomb Cyclone
MARKETS US equities were a bit stronger Tuesday, but most of the market indulgence was on the surging Yen, which soared 4% against the USD after the BoJ’s unexpected decision to widen its 10yr yield target band. Nikkei fell 2.5%. Global bond yields also shifted higher following the BoJ announcement: US10yr yields are up 11bps…