HONG KONG (AFP): European stocks opened down on Monday and Asian trade was mixed, with investors mostly treading water ahead of key data releases this week, including earnings results from US tech behemoths.
US equities futures were also down following a muted finish on Wall Street last week, with a wait-and-see mood taking hold of markets as they awaited results from the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta.
“Mega tech earnings will be important this week for the rally in risk sentiment since the beginning of the year,” Tapas Strickland of National Australia Bank said. Traders will also be looking for clues about the US Federal Reserve’s next steps on interest rates.
Though swaps markets indicate that some traders think a peak and subsequent cuts are just around the corner, upcoming US data on growth, inflation and wages could see that forecast change, analysts say.
Meanwhile, moves by leveraged investors suggest they foresee more rate hikes to come.
“The thought that the Fed is going to aggressively cut into year end is misleading,” Kim Strand, head of fundamental research and ESG integration for Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, told Bloomberg Television.
“We believe what the Fed is saying: that it will hike and stay there until you see these areas of inflation coming down.”
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore were all down on Monday. London, Frankfurt and Paris also opened lower. Mumbai, Tokyo, Wellington, Taipei and Manila were all up.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a note that China’s rebound following the end of its growth-sapping zero-Covid policies was likely to cool, relying now on higher income growth and improved consumer sentiment.
“So the easy part is done; now, the consumer will need to do the bulk of the heavy lifting,” he said.
Also this week, investors will be watching important economic data from South Korea, Australia and the eurozone, as well as Bank of Japan chief Kazuo Ueda’s approach as he chairs his first key policy meeting.
Responding to questions in parliament on Monday, Ueda suggested the bank would stay the course in terms of monetary stimulus, adding that inflation was expected to cool below two percent in the second half of the fiscal year ending next March.
Credit Suisse, meanwhile, revealed on Monday that more than $68 billion was withdrawn in the first three months of 2023, in what are likely its final quarterly results before it is swallowed by rival UBS.
At the same time, the bank saw its net profit swell to $13.9 billion, up from a significant loss a year earlier, after holders of high-risk Credit Suisse debt were wiped out in the emergency takeover deal.
