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Market Opener – 22 Feb 2018
Local Markets Commentary
he Australian market commences today’s trade amid a myriad of high-profile domestic corporate earnings reports and with four large-cap stocks trading ex-dividend.
Overnight US equities leads are again negative, but commodities trade proved more positive than overnight Tuesday’s.
US gold futures closed little changed, however, while WTI crude slipped and Brent settled a little higher.
In LME trade, copper swung to recover from Tuesday’s decline. Aluminium also turned higher and nickel rallied.
The $A fell to ~US78.10c after trading at ~US78.55c early yesterday evening, and has further depreciated this morning.
Locally today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases a six-monthly average earnings report, this one including data to the end of November 2017.
Companies trading ex-dividend today include AGL, GWA, JBH and WPL.
Overseas Market Commentary
Major European and US equities markets diverged again overnight, key US indices falling in the last two hours of trade to settle at session lows.
The FTSE 100 appeared heartened by a softer British pound combined with Bank of England commentary and a discussion paper suggesting the separation from the European Union may not prove to be too sudden a change.
US Federal Reserve January policy meeting minutes revealed varying opinions on likely economic and inflation growth rates.
Notably, some FOMC members said their expectations had risen since December.
Reactions and the $US swung amid plenty of interpretive commentary.
Two-year treasury bonds had earlier traded at nine-year peaks.
January existing home sales were in the meantime reported 3.2% lower, representing a second consecutive monthly fall.
Among a batch of other data releases, an initial February manufacturing PMI for the euro zone fell 1.1 to 58.5. The service index fell 1.3, meaning the composite reading represented a 1.3-point lower, but nonetheless strong, 57.4.
Germany’s sovereign bond yields subsequently eased.
UK December quarter average earnings grew 2.5% year-on-year, the same as for November.
December unemployment rose 0.1% for the month to 4.4%.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney surprised a UK parliamentary treasury committee, revealing the central bank’s view that wages growth could exceed inflation growth within a year.
He also assured any rate rises would be gradual but that the bank was positioned to move swiftly if needed.
Tonight, in the US, weekly new unemployment claims, a regional manufacturing index and the Conference Board’s leading indicator update are due.
Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank (ECB) publishes January policy meeting minutes.
Anglo American, Apache, Axa, BAE Systems, Barclays, Hewlett Packard and Newmont Mining are among companies scheduled to report earnings today and tonight.
In overnight corporate news, Glencore was pushed ~4% higher on a $US14.8B full year adjusted profit and proposed distribution exceeding the company policy minimum.
Chip manufacturer Broadcom lowered its unwelcome Qualcomm bid by $US3/share to $US79/share, following Qualcomm’s announcement Tuesday that it was lifting its offer for NXP.
he Australian market commences today’s trade amid a myriad of high-profile domestic corporate earnings reports and with four large-cap stocks trading ex-dividend.
Overnight US equities leads are again negative, but commodities trade proved more positive than overnight Tuesday’s.
US gold futures closed little changed, however, while WTI crude slipped and Brent settled a little higher.
In LME trade, copper swung to recover from Tuesday’s decline. Aluminium also turned higher and nickel rallied.
The $A fell to ~US78.10c after trading at ~US78.55c early yesterday evening, and has further depreciated this morning.
Locally today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases a six-monthly average earnings report, this one including data to the end of November 2017.
Companies trading ex-dividend today include AGL, GWA, JBH and WPL.
Overseas Market Commentary
Major European and US equities markets diverged again overnight, key US indices falling in the last two hours of trade to settle at session lows.
The FTSE 100 appeared heartened by a softer British pound combined with Bank of England commentary and a discussion paper suggesting the separation from the European Union may not prove to be too sudden a change.
US Federal Reserve January policy meeting minutes revealed varying opinions on likely economic and inflation growth rates.
Notably, some FOMC members said their expectations had risen since December.
Reactions and the $US swung amid plenty of interpretive commentary.
Two-year treasury bonds had earlier traded at nine-year peaks.
January existing home sales were in the meantime reported 3.2% lower, representing a second consecutive monthly fall.
Among a batch of other data releases, an initial February manufacturing PMI for the euro zone fell 1.1 to 58.5. The service index fell 1.3, meaning the composite reading represented a 1.3-point lower, but nonetheless strong, 57.4.
Germany’s sovereign bond yields subsequently eased.
UK December quarter average earnings grew 2.5% year-on-year, the same as for November.
December unemployment rose 0.1% for the month to 4.4%.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney surprised a UK parliamentary treasury committee, revealing the central bank’s view that wages growth could exceed inflation growth within a year.
He also assured any rate rises would be gradual but that the bank was positioned to move swiftly if needed.
Tonight, in the US, weekly new unemployment claims, a regional manufacturing index and the Conference Board’s leading indicator update are due.
Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank (ECB) publishes January policy meeting minutes.
Anglo American, Apache, Axa, BAE Systems, Barclays, Hewlett Packard and Newmont Mining are among companies scheduled to report earnings today and tonight.
In overnight corporate news, Glencore was pushed ~4% higher on a $US14.8B full year adjusted profit and proposed distribution exceeding the company policy minimum.
Chip manufacturer Broadcom lowered its unwelcome Qualcomm bid by $US3/share to $US79/share, following Qualcomm’s announcement Tuesday that it was lifting its offer for NXP.