HSBC fails to beat expectations for 2018 earnings, reporting 15.9 percent higher in pre-tax profit and 4.5 percent in revenue, in comparison to 2017, against the expected 23.8 percent increase in pre-tax profit and 6.28 percent for revenue
Trade talks between the US and China begin today in Washington, which according to a top official from the US Chamber of Commerce, can only progress if Trump’s administration also creates ways to enforce a trade agreement
Asian stocks mixed after
News flow light thanks to US holiday: SPI Futures are indicating a flat start for the ASX200 this morning, in a 24-hours starved of meaningful news and data. US markets were closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday, meaning a crucial source of information was absent from the news flow. It was perhaps a positive thing for market-bulls: the vacuum left by US markets allowed for Asian and Europe equity indices to seize the improved sentiment flowing from Wall Street on Friday, following further progr
Asia share markets began the week with strong gains as investors hope for both further progress at US-China trade talks in Washington this week and more stimulus from major central banks. Trump stated in a White House news conference that he would be "honored" to remove current tariffs if an agreement can be reached, and to possibly extend the March 1st deadline for a deal.
The Shanghai Composite was up around 1.8% by the end of the morning trading session, whilst the Hang Seng and the Ni
President’s Day: It’s Trump’s market – and we are all just trading in it. It’s perhaps for some – especially market-purists – the uncomfortable reality that, as far as short-term movements and sentiment goes, US President Trump and his policy making is the greatest determinant of the current macro-economic outlook. It cuts in both directions, and certainly the US President is just as prone to deflating the market as he is to inflate it. But almost by his own admission, Trump’s modus operandi is
Expected index adjustments
Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 18 Feb 2019. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect your positions, please take a look at the video.
NB: All dividend adjustments are forecasts and therefore speculative. A dividend adjustment is a cash neutral ad
Weak retail figures in the US have spilled over to most major stock markets, with European stocks set to open lower this morning. The 1.2% decline in retail sales for the month of December, the biggest drop in almost ten years, have brought new fears that we are facing a global economic slowdown. The DJIA closed 104 points lower at 25,439.39, the S&P 500 closed 7 points lower at 2,745.73, whilst the Nasdaq managed to close in the positive with a gain of 6.6 points at 7,426.96.
China'
A little bit of everything: It certainly wasn’t the highest-impact day market participants have experienced so far this year, but there was a spoonful of everything, thematically speaking that is, driving the macro-economic outlook for markets in 2019. To keep it high level, there was a series of significant growth-related data released out of all three of the world’s major economic geographies – China, Europe and China – plus a healthy smattering of geopolitics and corporate news to keep trader
Figures released for China's exports in the month of January show a 9.1% growth year on year on its dollar-denominated exports. This has beat expectations of a 3% drop in exports predicted for the month of January on the back of December's 4.4% drop. This increase brings the total Chinese trade surplus to $39.16 billion for the month of January, notably lower than the $57.06 billion surplus in December. Despite the better than expected figures, some investors are still weary about this signalli
ASX missed the party yesterday: The ASX bucked the trend yesterday, at least across the Asian region, closing 0.26 per cent lower at 6063. Ostensibly, Australian shares missed-out on the party: global equities were noticeably higher across the board, with the other major regional indices in China, Japan and Hong Kong adding well in excess of 1 per cent for the day. Though a step-back for the Bulls, it's no cause for alarm: the price action speaks of a few idiosyncratic quirks on the ASX200 yeste
Banco Santander SA skipped an option to call 1.5 billion euros of convertible notes next month, after leaving investors in the dark for weeks. The news had the bonds trade at 97 cents on the euro, after being almost at par last week. A portfolio manager at Financiere de La Cite SAS commented that credit buyers “will need some serious new issue premium to touch that name again”.
Trading in Asia was optimistic on hopes of a trade war resolution as Trump commented during a cabinet meeting on
New headlines to chase: The discourse in markets shifted early this week to where the next upside catalyst would come from. It needn't be substantial; just enough to fuel sentiment and attract buyers back into the market. In the last 24 hours, market participants received what they'd be yearning for: the combination of an in-principle deal in US Congress for border-security funding, along with the announcement that the US-China trade-truce deadline could be extended, has stoked bullish sentiment
Another shutdown of the US government has reportedly been avoided in the latest round of negotiations. Following the longest shutdown in the history of the US at the start of this year, the government was opened temporarily whilst budget negotiations continue.
US markets had a mixed session yesterday with the Dow down 0.21% but the S&P and Nasdaq marginally higher at 0.13% and 0.07% gains respectively. Could the end of shutdown fears spur a rally in today’s session?
With a sub
A thus far settled start to the week: It was a day of low activity and mixed results, generally across global markets in the last 24-hours. Equities were patchy in their performance, on much lower than average volumes, while a retracing in bonds revealed stable risk-sentiment. It hasn't been so for some time, but yesterday market participants behaved in a classic "Monday" way. There was a lack of a unifying theme to drive market activity in a macro-sense, leaving traders to trade-off the idiosyn
Don’t Forget Trade Wars Aren’t Isolated to US-China
Trade wars remain my greatest concern for the health of the global markets and economy. There have been threats in the past where a localized fundamental virus has turned contagious to the rest of the world by unforeseen circumstances – such as the Great Financial Crisis whereby a US subprime housing derivative implosion infected the wider financial markets by destabilized a foundation built on excess leverage throughout the system. When i
Chinese markets were mixed during the Monday session after being offline for much of last week due to the Lunar New Year holiday. The Shanghai composite gained 0.8% whilst the Hang Send index rose 0.23%. However following Samsung electronic decline of 0.67% the Kospi remained slightly lower after promising recovery from earlier losses.
Oil prices fell over 1% despite refinery fire in Illinois which resulted in shutdown of large crude distillation unit. International Brent Crude futures d
Not with a bang, but with a whimper? Without all the fire and fury that we saw in December, markets are pricing in once again a slow down in global economic growth. It could be strongly argued this is evidence of how important US Fed support is to equity market strength – but that’s a drum to beaten (over-and-over-again) for another day. Fundamentally, traders are quietly re-pricing for a world where economic growth will be weaker than once thought. Such behaviour has been long evident in Chines
Expected index adjustments
Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 11 Feb 2019. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect your positions, please take a look at the video.
NB: All dividend adjustments are forecasts and therefore speculative. A dividend adjustment is a cash neutral ad
Bank of England believes the UK economy is set for the worst year since the financial crisis, as its growth forecasts for 2019 decline from 1.7 percent to 1.2 percent due to a slow economy and Brexit doubt
Trump to sign order to ban Chinese telecommunication equipment from US wireless networks
May travels to Dublin to discuss Brexit negotiations as she believes a deal could be agreed with Parliament if binding changes can be made to the backstop
Asian stocks decline after co
Theresa May is set to meet with European leaders today to have crucial talks about amending her Brexit proposal with all of the focus on the Irish backstop. She flies to Brussels a day after European Council president Donald Tusk faced backlash after he claimed there is 'a special place in hell for Brexiteers'.
The Bank of England is set to announce its rate decision today at noon, with forecasts expecting rates to be unchanged until some of the Brexit uncertainty has passed.
US in
ASX overbought; but clear-air ahead: The ASX200 ought to add another 22 points this morning, according to SPI futures. There is a lot of enthusiasm about Aussie stocks presently – something surely attractive for the contrarians who like to run counter to prevailing market sentiment. It’s been said so much that it’s become facile: a pull-back must come soon to test the strength of the market’s recovery. Of course, it is a matter of when this eventuates – timing is always the toughest thing to pre
Despite announcing a loss of 4 cents per share Snap shares soared in after-hours trading as the social media giant beat analysts expectations, the general consensus was that the company would report a net loss of 8 cents per share in Q4.
Disney also beat expectations aided by the launch of its streaming service ESPN+ and sales increases in its theme park businesses, earning per share came in at $1.84 vs $1.55 expected.
The Dow rose by 172 points, followed by a 0.47% increase in th
The bulls keep control: SPI futures are indicating that the ASX200 will climb another 20 points at the open, adding to yesterday’s bank-led 1.95 per cent rally. Another solid day on Wall Street can also be pointed-to for the market’s start in the green, with US shares continuing their run-higher. Quietness in Asia courtesy of the Chinese New Year holiday has kept some negative headlines way, aiding the bullishness. Global bond markets are steady, gold is off its highs, and credit spreads keep na
Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its share prices fall over 3% in extended trading on the back of continuing pressure on advertising prices and decreasing margins - adding to the concern over the company's periodic surges in spending. This comes despite the company beat expectations across the board in its Q4 results.
Theresa May will travel to Ireland today to try to ease concerns over a hard border situation in Ireland upon Brexit. Meanwhile, UK Steel has warned that a no-deal Br
