By Gustav Sandstrom
TODAY'S CALENDAR - All times GMT
Nordic Macro
0700 Denmark 2Q GDP
0800 Norges Bank FX purchases
0800 Norway July retail sales
0800 Norway Aug unemployment
Other Macro
0600 Germany July retail sales
0900 Eurozone Aug business &
consumer surveys
0900 Eurozone Aug flash estimate
inflation
0900 Eurozone July unemployment
1345 US Aug ISM-Chicago PMI
1355 US Aug University of
Michigan final consumer
survey
Nordic Equities
0630 Volvo July truck deliveries
n/a Golden Ocean 2Q
n/a Frontline 2Q
IN FOCUS:
Nordic investors will look forward Friday to a range of
macroeconomic data from the region and abroad, as well as July
truck deliveries from Swedish index heavyweight Volvo AB
(VOLV-B.SK).
In the Nordics, Friday will see the release of Danish
second-quarter GDP data, due at 0700 GMT, as well as Norwegian
statistics including retail sales and unemployment numbers a bit
later in the morning.
Later in the day, focus will turn to Eurozone economic sentiment
surveys as well as inflation figures for August.
"In the wake of stronger-than-expected flash PMIs, economic
sentiment indices in the Eurozone will likely increase further in
August," Credit Agricole said in a note to investors. "All in all,
economic sentiment indices should confirm prospects of positive
growth in Q3," it added.
Meanwhile, flash HICP inflation in the common currency area is
expected to moderate to 1.4% year-on-year in August from 1.6% in
the previous month thanks to favorable base effects in energy
inflation, the brokerage said.
Even more interesting for investors will be the US Chicago PMI
and University of Michigan consumer survey, due in the afternoon,
SEB Private Banking Chief Equity Strategist Esbjorn Lundevall
said.
Credit Agricole expects the final U.S. University of Michigan
consumer sentiment survey for August to be revised 0.5 points to
79.5, it said.
"Since the release of the preliminary August Sentiment index,
equity indices were volatile, which will likely have a dampening
effect on sentiment," it noted.
FOREX:
EUR/NOK
Latest 0150 GMT 8.0633-734
Previous 2150 GMT 8.0641-717
%Chg +0.01
EUR/SEK
Latest 0150 GMT 8.7261-358
Previous 2150 GMT 8.7206-95
%Chg +0.07
USD/NOK
Latest 0150 GMT 6.0866-934
Previous 2150 GMT 6.0906-54
%Chg -0.05
USD/SEK
Latest 0150 GMT 6.5869-932
Previous 2150 GMT 6.5865-923
%Chg +0.01
NORDIC CURRENCIES:
Nordic currencies traded lower against the dollar on Monday but
the NOK might get a boost from rising oil prices.
"In isolation the rise in oil price could make the NOK more
attractive again," Camilla Viland, currency analyst at DNB, said.
But, she added, there are several other factors to consider and
uneasy markets could weigh. She also noted that there is a certain
psychological apprehension among investors against the NOK since
many have been burnt by the NOK's movements this year. How Syria
develops over the next few days will be key, she noted.
DNB also noted that the oil price in fact serves as one of the
key risks for the NOK in the long term since a "hard landing in
China will increase market tensions markedly and the oil price is
likely to drop sharply."
Friday brings two important pieces to the NOK puzzle in the form
of Norwegian retail sales and unemployment. Ms. Viland thinks they
are likely to move markets since these number will guide the Norges
Bank rate decision in September and said that "we saw how reactions
were to the weak GDP numbers last week."
A Dow Jones survey of analysts sees Norway's unemployment rate
flat on the month at 3.4%.
STOCK INDEXES:
OMXN40 1,156.21 +1.96 +0.2%
OMXS30 1,224.31 +6.16 +0.5%
OBX 462.26 +1.09 +0.2%
OMXC20 557.26 +3.27 +0.6%
OMXH25 2,413.91 +15.93 +0.7%
Brent $113.91 -$1.25 -1.1%
NORDIC MARKETS:
Nordic stocks traded slightly higher Thursday, rebounding from
the past few days' losses.
Equities are beginning to look a bit oversold following the
recent sell-off amid concerns over the conflict in Syria, SEB
Private Banking's Esbjorn Lundevall said, adding that this
apparently attracted some buyers to the market.
The situation in Syria, and potential intervention there by
Western countries, is likely to remain high on the agenda in coming
sessions, Mr. Lundevall said. Stock market participants will keep a
close eye on any political statements regarding the situation, he
added.
In the longer term, Nordic stocks are likely to see a relatively
positive trend for the rest of the year, though events such as the
Syrian conflict may add some temporary turbulence, Mr. Lundevall
said.
ENERGY:
Crude-oil futures were lower in Asian trade Friday after the
U.K. parliament voted against using force in Syria. British Prime
Minister David Cameron acknowledged late Thursday the lack of
support for British military intervention in Syria and said the
government would act accordingly. However, there is a strong
likelihood the U.S. may opt for a unilateral strike. Delays in a
potential military strike against Syria have removed some of the
geopolitical risk premium, ANZ Research said in a note. Nymex crude
was down $1.40 at $107.40/bbl; Brent was down $1.25 at
$113.91/bbl.
NEWS ROUNDUP:
NORWAY: Oil and gas producer Norwegian Energy Company ASA
(NOR.OS) said Thursday its second-quarter net loss widened as
writedowns from the reduced value of reserves at its Norwegian,
Danish and U.K. activities weighed.
NORWAY: Ship chartering company Jinhui Shipping &
Transportation Ltd. (JIN.OS) Thursday posted a sharp drop in
second-quarter net profit, weighed by fair value losses on its
investment portfolio and with no exceptional income recognized in
the quarter.
SWEDEN: Retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (HM-B.SK) said Thursday
it has signed a contract for a store in South Africa, and said the
store is planned to open at the earliest in 2015.
SWEDEN: Cosmetics company Oriflame Cosmetics S.A. (ORI-SDB.SK)
said Thursday it is launching a number of measures to boost
efficiency and save costs, adding that it expects the initiatives
to result in redundancies in parts of its organization.
SWEDEN: Swedish telecom operator TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK) said
Thursday it has issued a Eurobond of EUR350 million maturing in
Sept. 2033 under its existing EUR11 billion Euro Medium Term Note
program.
DENMARK: Denmark's unemployment rate rose slightly on the month
in July to 4.4% from 4.3% seasonally adjusted, according to data
released Thursday by Statistics Denmark.
Write to Gustav Sandstrom at gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com
(Johannes Ledel in Stockholm contributed to this report.)