Finance Friday

Market Data

Local

Global

*Data as of 6pm WAT

Market News

Local

Global

Weekly Investment Watchlist

Market Commentary

Asia and Australia

• BOJ officials say they see little need to address side effects of its yield curve control programme for now although said they will continue to discuss issue. Core CPI rose 3.3% y/y in June, in line with consensus, following 3.2% in the previous month. Ex-fresh food & energy inflation edged down to 4.2% from 4.3% (post-1981 high), also as expected.

• Exports from South Korea in first 20 days of July fell 15.2% y/y as slump in semiconductor sales continued.

• Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group (DWCM) sparks volatile trading in China dollar junk bonds over whether it will repay a $400M bond that matures Sunday. DWCM told creditors that firm expects to complete an undisclosed asset disposal and use proceeds for repayment due 23-Jul. DWCM is a Chinese real estate giant and defaulting on their bonds shows severe distress in the Chinese Property market, something we’ve been discussing for a while.

Europe, Middle East, Africa

• UK Retail Sales number came in positive MoM rising 0.7%. This is the 3rd consecutive month of positive data. The YoY change still remains negative at -1% but improved from -2.3% last month. Better weather and summer sales seems to have driven the improvement.

• A Bloomberg survey of economists showed most economists think the ECB is unlikely to keep interest rate at their peak for an extended period, as the economy slows.

• The Gfk UK consumer confidence index record its largest drop in sentiment in over a year, down 6 points to -30 in July

The Americas

• Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max screen issues could lead to shortages at September launch

• Google and OpenAI pledge to promote safety and transparency in AI development

• Blackstone becomes first private-equity firm to have $1T under management

• AAII bullish sentiment jumped to 51.4% in week-ended 19-Jul from 41.0% in prior week. Marked highest reading since late-April 2021 and longest above-average streak since a 13-week stretch from February to May 2021.

• The Conference Board US LEI (Leading Economic Index) declined yet again by 0.7% in June 2023 following a decline of 0.6% in May. The LEI provides an early indication of significant turning points in the business cycle and where the economy is heading in the near term and his flashing a recession signal for a while now.

The Week Ahead:

• Monday:

  • China's Gross Domestic Product expanded by 6.3% year-on-year in Q2 2023

  • NY Empire State Manufacturing Index dropped to +1.1

• Tuesday:

  • US Retail sales in the US rose 0.2% month-over-month in June of 2023

• Wednesday:

  • UK Consumer price inflation dropped to 7.9 percent

  • US Building permits declined by 3.7% in June 2023 to an annual rate of 1.44 million

• Thursday:

  • The People's Bank of China (PBoC) maintained lending rates in July, keeping the one-year loan prime rate at 3.55% and the five-year rate at 4.2%

  • US Initial jobless claims drop 9000 to 228k surpassing the forecast of 242k and showing a decline from the previous 237k.

  • US existing home sales dropped by 3.3% to a rate of 4.16 million units in June 2023

• Friday:

  • UK GFK Consumer Confidence

  • UK Retail Sales

Investment Tip of The Day

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this report is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed.