20/02/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
UK Rightmove house prices February
Asia
This week, the economic calendar in Asia will be dominated by three central bank policy decisions, as investors try to navigate the significant market impact caused by the recent dramatic shift in U.S. interest rate expectations. However, these events take place amidst an increasingly tense geopolitical landscape, with Sino-U.S. relations worsening due to the spy balloon crisis, and the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine occurring on Friday.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index has experienced a decline for three consecutive weeks, its most significant downturn since October. Chinese stocks have also fallen for three straight weeks, with last week’s drop intensified by Lenovo’s report of its largest revenue decline in 14 years, resulting in a 1.5% slump on Friday, the sharpest drop this year.
On Monday morning, the People’s Bank of China will announce its lending benchmark interest rates. Many analysts anticipate that the bank will keep benchmark lending rates unchanged for the sixth consecutive month, maintaining the one-year loan prime rate at 3.65% and the five-year rate at 4.30%.
United States
This week, important economic indicators for the US include the release of the Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes on Wednesday and personal spending data on Friday. In January, the core PCE prices are expected to increase at the fastest monthly pace in five months, surpassing the 0.4% monthly gain of the core CPI. The year-on-year rate is likely to remain at 4.5%, indicating that prices are still elevated. The report is also expected to show that consumer spending has rebounded, more than offsetting recent weakness.
According to Lee’s analysis, the S&P 500 is expected to rise from March 7 to March 18, then experience a slowdown until early April, before rallying strongly from April 8 through early May.
Commodities
Geopolitical tensions between China and the US are impacting business deals, as evidenced by China’s plans to examine Ford Motor’s recent agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) to ensure that the Chinese battery company’s core technology is not transferred to the American automaker. As part of the deal, Ford will license CATL’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology for use in a new $US3.5 billion electric-vehicle battery plant that the company will operate and oversee in southwest Michigan.
The above analysis is only for the views of market researchers and is for reference only and is not regarded as a specific investment suggestion.
