MARKET WRAPS
Watch For:
Eurozone Foreign Trade, New Passenger Car Registrations; Italy
Foreign Trade EU; U.K. Card Spending; updates from Air France-KLM,
Gazprom, Ashtead, Johnson Matthey, Ryanair
Opening Call:
Doubts over the pace of the global economic rebound will
continue to weigh on European stocks. In Asia, most major
benchmarks were lower, along with the dollar, Treasury yields and
gold, while oil futures extended their rally.
Equities:
European shares may struggle higher in another cautious opening
session on Thursday, despite a strong finish on Wall Street, as
investors try to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.
U.S. stock indexes finished on higher ground, helped by surging
energy stocks and positive economic data, even as investors remain
fixated on next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
Stocks closed near session highs, despite expectations that a
choppy market likely will be the new normal until next week's FOMC
policy meeting.
"It's very hard [for the market to rise] in advance of the FOMC
meeting, " Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at
Invesco, said in a Wednesday phone interview. "These are stomach
churning days and we think it's going to be very hard to gain any
type of substantial positive momentum," Hooper said.
Asian stock markets dipped as some disappointing Japanese export
data and worries over China's slowing growth dimmed sentiment.
Forex:
The dollar drifted in Asian trading after the currency had lost
ground on Wednesday.
DBS said the currency market has been seesawing, with the mood
caught between stock-market bears looking for a correction in
September-October and bond-market bears who see the Fed tapering
asset purchases before year-end. This deadlock is expected to
continue into next week's FOMC meeting, DBS added.
GBP/USD softened slightly in Asia after its recent gains, as
investors continue to weigh the prospect of interest rates rising
in the U.K.
Nomura said the Bank of England could delay tightening monetary
policy as long as inflation expectations remain contained.
George Buckley, Chief UK & Euro Area Economist sees risks to
the BOE's view that it may raise interest rates for the first time
in February 2023; the risk of another wave of the virus and
associated restrictions could still mean the near 40 basis points
of tightening assumed by the market over the next year is too
aggressive.
Bonds:
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped back below 1.300% in a choppy
Asian session.
The market has largely held steady after yields declined on
Tuesday following the U.S. CPI data.
The inflation data doesn't change anything regarding the timing
of the Fed's tapering decision, "as suggested by the negligible
movement in UST real yields," UniCredit analysts wrote in a note.
"Investors will now turn to scrutinizing economic data, and most
importantly labor market data, which will be crucial in determining
the timing of tapering and the performance of UST real yields going
forward."
Credit Suisse said it's unlikely to get much new in terms of
taper timing from the FOMC next week. "What we will get is a new
dot plot and in that new dot plot is where the intrigue lies."
U.K. government bond yields look low in relation to the risk of
rising inflation and the prospect of interest rates rising earlier
than anticipated, Mizuho said.
"The GBP curve is still generally flatter than we can justify,
which we think is premised on a very low neutral Bank rate,"
analysts at Mizuho said. After official data showed the annual U.K.
CPI inflation rate rose 3.2% in August, they see a much greater
probability of the BOE "not only hiking rates, but also actively
selling gilts into the market, than the forwards [rates] currently
price."
Energy:
Oil futures have made further gains in Asia, having climbed on
Wednesday to their highest settlement since late July, boosted by
U.S. government data that showed a more than six million-barrel
weekly drop in domestic crude supplies.
"For another week, stymied production and subdued refinery runs
have offset each other - with both barely ticking higher in the
last week as the Gulf Coast struggles to recover from the impact of
Hurricane Ida," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst, Americas, at
Kpler.
"Imports remained broadly on par with the prior week's pace,
while ongoing strength in crude exports from ports which were
unaffected by the hurricane have helped crude inventories to a
solid draw in this latest report."
ANZ said near-term sentiment may be supported by OPEC's latest
outlook, in which the cartel raised its 2022 demand forecast, a
more optimistic view on Chinese demand and positive economic
developments in Europe.
Metals:
Gold prices edged lower in Asia after they posted their first
loss in three sessions on Wednesday.
"Subdued inflation expectations have been a headwind, with our
gold valuation model still suggesting it is undervalued, driven by
expectations that the spike in inflation will transitory," ANZ
said.
Oanda thinks support for gold remains at $1,780 but if that
level is breached, deeper losses to $1,750 can be expected.
Aluminum was higher as production costs of the industrial metal
in both China and the EU rise, Goldman Sachs said.
In China, higher electricity costs, along with mandated
blackouts in the province of Yunnan, are crimping aluminum
production, while EU smelters are grappling with rallying
carbon-credit and power input costs, Goldman Sachs said. Logistical
bottlenecks also posed an upside risk.
Citi reckons investors should hedge their bullish aluminum
positions by betting against zinc in order to reduce cyclical
exposure to China, given some red flags including weakening
construction activity measures and the high likelihood of credit
tightening.
"Aluminum and zinc have similar demand side exposures to China
and similar end use markets both in China and globally and thus
zinc may be a good way to reduce some of the cyclical downside on
the demand side if China remains weak," Citi said.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Japan's Exports Rose for Sixth Straight Month in August
Japan's exports climbed by double digits for the sixth straight
month in August, driven by strong demand for steel,
semiconductor-related products and auto parts in key overseas
markets, Ministry of Finance data showed Thursday.
Exports increased 26.2% compared with the same period a year
earlier, easing from July's 37% increase. The result was weaker
than the 32.2% increase tipped by a FactSet survey of
economists.
Uranium Heats Up, and Hedge Funds Score
Uranium prices are rising, enriching a handful of hedge funds
that have been betting a market laid low by a nuclear disaster a
decade ago would rebound.
The price of uranium hit an eight-year high of $44 a pound this
week, according to the price tracker UxC LLC. The surge follows the
recent launch of an exchange-traded trust by Sprott Asset
Management LP, which has bought large stockpiles of uranium after
raising money from shareholders and emerged as a favored trading
vehicle in its own right, traders said.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Shifts Dominic Raab Aside in
Cabinet Reorganization
LONDON-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wednesday shuffled a
number of top ministerial jobs in a bid to enforce discipline
within Conservative Party ranks and move on from the Covid-19
crisis.
The most high-profile change was Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab,
who was moved aside to head the justice ministry while also being
given the title of deputy prime minister.
U.S. to Share Nuclear Submarine Technology With Australia in New
Pact
WASHINGTON-The U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia are
creating a new security partnership in the Indo-Pacific, building
on the longstanding alliance between the three to share
intelligence, deepen cooperation and help Australia to build
nuclear-powered submarine capabilities as China's influence
grows.
The new agreement, announced Wednesday by leaders of the three
countries, was described by administration officials as a way to
line up common interests in the Asia Pacific.
Airbus, Air New Zealand to Jointly Study Hydrogen Aircraft
Feasibility
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Airbus SE and Air New Zealand Ltd. have
agreed to jointly research the feasibility of operating a
hydrogen-fueled aircraft by the end of this decade.
Airbus, which has been exploring three hydrogen-powered aircraft
concepts, said the joint study would help it understand the
practical challenges of putting an aircraft powered by a renewable
energy source into service. Air New Zealand would assess the
possible impact that a hydrogen aircraft would have on its network,
operations and infrastructure.
Microsoft Plans $60 Billion Share-Buyback Program, Raises
Dividend
Microsoft Corp.'s board approved a plan to buy back as much as
$60 billion of its stock, extending the tech giant's extensive
repurchase program at a time when Congressional Democrats have
proposed taxing companies that do buybacks.
Microsoft didn't provide a timetable for the repurchases. It
said Tuesday the program doesn't have an expiration date and could
be terminated any time.
Canadian Pacific Reaches $27 Billion Deal to Buy Kansas City
Southern
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. clinched a deal to take over
Kansas City Southern, as a rival dropped its pursuit of the highly
coveted railroad after a monthslong battle.
The $27 billion agreement, if completed, would be the first
major merger in the industry in the U.S. in about two decades and
would create the first freight rail network linking Canada, the
U.S. and Mexico.
Write to paul.larkins@dowjones.com
Expected Major Events for Thursday
04:30/NED: Aug Unemployment
06:00/EU: Aug New Passenger Car Registrations in Europe
statistics (EU27 + EFTA3)
07:00/SVK: Jul New orders in industry
07:00/CZE: Aug PPI
08:00/ITA: Jul Foreign Trade EU
08:30/UK: Jun Card Spending statistics
09:00/EU: Jul Foreign trade
10:00/POR: Aug PPI
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 16, 2021 00:31 ET (04:31 GMT)
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