Friday & Weekend Recap:
The U.S. markets reacted to Trumps tax promises, reaching new highs in the Dow, S&P500, Nasdaq Composite, and joining the party, the Russell 2000 Index. Expect markets to also embrace any Trump talk on deregulation, part of his suite of presidential campaign promises.
U.S. Dollar Index ended the week up 1.02% as it continues to strengthen throughout February – Chart below.
U.S. Treasuries fell as 10-year Bonds yields hit 2.41% up a single basis point. Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,234.90 an ounce, after a 1.1% sell off on Thursday as Trumps comments boosted hopes of tax breaks. Oil reversed its losses throughout the week, settling at $53.86 a barrel Friday.
British Manufacturing Production for December came in at 2.1%. GDP grew 0.6% in Q4 2016. A solid result considering the Brexit shock earlier in the year.
The Donald Trump Shinzo Abe meeting on Friday night publicly affirmed the strength of the U.S. and Japan bond. No comments yet on trade or investment decisions/outlooks.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday. This was the first missile test by the country since President Trump has been in power. Sources suggest the medium-range missile, which has been tested numerous times in recent years, was part of a ‘show of force’ given the US presidential change over.
The Week Ahead: (All times AEDT)
The only release of note today: Japans Preliminary GDP q/q. Once weekend positioning and Fridays news has been absorbed expect todays FX and Indices to be range bound, assuming nothing left field.
OPEC’s monthly report is due out tonight (Monday).
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the Senate banking panel on Feb 15 & 16 (2:00AM). Look for comments surrounding the last NFP wage growth slow down and her thoughts on Trump Policies now and in the future.
Economic Figures:
CPI/PPI figures out of China (Tues 12:30PM), Britain (Tues 8:30PM) and the U.S. (Wed & Thurs 12:30AM), along with retail numbers out of the U.S. (Thurs 12:30AM), NZ (Fri 8:45AM) and GBP (Fri 8:30PM) are announced throughout the week.
Australian Employment figures also due out on Thursday at 11:30AM.
