Money Monday

Market Data

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Global

*Data as of 4pm WAT

Market News

Local

Global

Weekly Investment Watchlist

Market Commentary:

Asia and Australia:

• Asian equities closed with mixed results on Monday. China’s assets rallied on better economic news, driven by stronger-than-expected credit and inflation data. However, Hong Kong underperformed as it partially marked down losses from Chinese equities on Friday.

• In China, new loans for August reached CNY 1.36 trillion, surpassing the consensus forecast of CNY 1.20 trillion and following CNY 345.9 billion in the previous month.

• Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Ueda stated that they “can’t rule out the possibility” of having enough information by year-end to assess if wages will continue to rise. The yen strengthened, bond yields rose sharply, and the banking sector rallied largely in response to Governor Ueda’s comments.

• In China, deflation pressures eased as the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.1% year-on-year in August, falling below the consensus estimate of 0.3%. This marked an improvement from the 0.3% decline in the previous month, which had been the first negative print since February 2021. Core inflation remained steady at 0.8%.

• Arm is reportedly close to securing enough investor support to achieve the fully diluted valuation of $54.5 billion it sought in its initial public offering (IPO) at the top of its indicated range. The company is considering asking investors to value it even higher.

Europe, Middle East, Africa:

• European equity markets closed higher, although they retreated from their peak levels. The mining and banking sectors outperformed, while travel and food/beverage sectors were weaker.

• The European Commission released its summer 2023 economic update, revising down the growth forecast for 2023 to 0.8% from the previous estimate of 1.1%. It also lowered the growth projection for 2024 to 1.3% from 1.6%.

• Dutch TTF gas prices were on track for a third consecutive day of gains as negotiations between Chevron and the Offshore Alliance took a different path compared to Woodside.

• Industry data from the UK continues to show a mixed picture for the labor market, with tomorrow’s official ONS data eagerly anticipated for further insights.

The Americas:

• Meta (formerly Facebook) is reportedly planning to train a new model that it hopes will be as powerful as OpenAI’s latest GPT-4. This suggests continued interest in advancing artificial intelligence capabilities.

• J.M. Smucker is nearing a deal to acquire Hostess Brands for close to $5 billion, indicating potential consolidation in the food industry.

• Strategists at Oppenheimer, led by Stoltzfus, believe that US stocks are likely to dip further. This outlook could influence investment decisions in the stock market.

• Earnings estimates are on the rise, further supporting expectations for a profit recovery following three consecutive quarters of year-on-year declines.

• A strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against the Big Three US automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis) is becoming increasingly likely after the union president expressed dissatisfaction with the latest contract proposals. Such a work stoppage, even if brief, could have significant economic consequences in the US.

The Week Ahead:

• Monday:

• Tuesday:

• Wednesday:

  • Manufacturing Production (YoY) (GB)

  • Industrial Production (MoM) (EA)

  • Consumer Price Index (MoM) (US)

• Thursday:

  • Employment Change s.a (AU)

  • Retail Sales (MoM) (US)

• Friday:

  • Industrial Production (YoY) (CN)

  • NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (US)

  • Industrial Production (MoM) (US)

  • Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (US)

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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.