Weekly Market Commentary
A huge weekend and yet another stunning upset election result. All the pundits and bookies were calling a comfortable Labor victory in Australia's Federal Election, held on Saturday just gone. The Liberal/National Coalition shocked most insiders and claimed an outsider victory. All the Polls and Bookies were wrong and was reminiscent of Brexit and the Trump Presidential elections. The lead up to the election had seen a steady decline in the AUD, down below 0.6870 on the close Friday, but the surprise result may see a spike in the currency come Monday morning. The result will be a boon for the Australian economy, with the conservative and predictable approach of the Coalition allowing the status quo, rather than the heavy tax and spend, socialist policies of the Labor favourites.
The Trump Administration confirmed that EU auto tariffs would be delayed for six months, relieving some pressure in the Global trade wars, allowing the US to concentrate on China. University of Michigan Sentiment surged to a five year high, confirming the strong performance of the US economy, despite the threat to global growth by the US/China trade wars. The cross party Brexit talks collapsed overnight and the GBP plunged to recent lows, trading 1.2730, while the EUR drifted back to 1.1150.
All markets eagerly await the open Monday morning!
Weekly Market Calendar
20/5 NZ Services PMI, UK House Prices, Japan GDP, Japan Industrial Production, EU Current Account, Chicago Fed National Activity.
21/5 Australia Consumer Confidence, RBA Minutes, NZ Credit Card Spending, OECD Outlook Report, EU Consumer Confidence, US Existing Home Sales
22/5 Japan Trade Exports/Imports, Australia Leading Index, UK CPI, UK House Prices, US Weekly Mortgage Applications, FOMC Minutes
23/5 Australia Services/Manufacturing/Composite PMI, German GDP, France/German/EU Services/Manufacturing/Composite PMI, German IFO Business Climate, US Weekly Jobless Claims, US Services/Manufacturing/Composite PMI, US New Home Sales, Kansas City Fed Manufacturing
24/5 NZ Trade Exports/Imports, Japan CPI, UK Retail Sales, Durable Goods Orders
Paul Bettany
Collinson & Co
0406-744-923