YOUR MONDAY WAKE UP CALL

What to look forward to this week 

Global stocks have gotten off to a relatively good start this year as we have seen a rebound across the different asset classes ranging from equities to commodities such as brent crude. This is not to say that the fears that engulfed the markets in December have completely been erased, but there is an air of enthusiasm that reasonable solutions will be reached soon. Locally, we continue to take a leaf from this global sentiment and this will remain the trend in the short to medium term until resolutions are reached with regards to the US-China trade war and Brexit. If we continue to see the release of weak Chinese economic data, this could dampen the growth forecasts for raw commodity producing economies such as South Africa. Below I have highlighted some of the key events and data releases that you can expect in this week’s trading.

• Monday will be relatively subdued in terms of data releases but earlier on China releases its Trade Balance numbers which came in better than expected as they reflected a higher trade surplus of $57.1 billion compared to a forecast of $51.6 billion. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday however from Europe we are expecting Industrial Production numbers at midday. There is no data expected locally.

• Early on Tuesday we are expecting Japan to release Machine Tool Orders, while China is expected to release its Foreign Direct Investment data. We are expecting Trade Balance data for the Eurozone at midday before attention shifts to the USA for the release of PPI data as well as the Empire State Manufacturing Index. The ECB president is expected to testify before the European parliament at 5pm which could result in some volatility for the Euro. The UK parliament is expected to vote in order to decide on passage of the deal triggering article 50 with the European Union. Locally, we are expecting Mining Production data for the month of November at 11.30am, while at 1pm we expect Stats SA to release Retail Sales data for the month of November.

• Japanese Core Machinery Orders and PPI data kicks off Wednesday for the financial markets. At 9am we are expecting German CPI data before attention shifts to the UK at 11.30am for the release of CPI data. From the USA we are expecting the weekly Crude Oil Inventories numbers. Locally, we are expecting the SARB to announce its interest rate decision and initial estimates suggest the bank will leave rates unchanged.

• On Thursday the major economic data to look out for is CPI data out of the Eurozone which is expected at midday. Other than that, we are expecting Philly Fed Manufacturing Index data and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims numbers out of the USA at 3.30pm.

• Friday kicks off with National Core CPI data out of Japan at 1.50am, which will be followed by Industrial Production numbers at 6.30am. We are expecting Current Account data for the Eurozone at 11am, and at 11.30am we are expecting Retail Sales data out of the United Kingdom. Canada is expected to release its CPI data at 3.30pm, while at 4.15pm we are expecting the USA to release its Capacity Utilization and Industrial Production data.

We will be keeping tabs on the events in the markets. Check out our blog for market updates, insights from our GT247.com team, and our independent analysts. Not sure about a trade? Call the GT247.com Trading Desk on 087 940 6102 and bounce your idea off one of our dedicated traders.

Until next week, we wish you profitable trading!