The US jobs number tonight poses a bit of a conundrum in an environment of extreme market volatility. A “hot” number, and more specifically a greater than expected wage growth number, would likely not be well received when Wall Street is fearing a too-aggressive Fed. But the Fed has recently backed off the rhetoric somewhat.
This would suggest a weak number would be better, but given growing use of the R-word around markets, a weak number might also suggest negative implications.
Let’s hope Goldilocks hasn’t yet left the building.
Next week brings US inflation data. See above.
And just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be anything else to throw the world into chaos than there already is, the UK parliament will vote on, and by all reckoning to date reject, Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday night.
What happens next in Britain is anyone’s guess.
And let us not forget OPEC last night suspended its production quota meeting ahead of talking to the Russians tonight. That’s still up in the air.
China will release inflation and trade numbers this weekend and next Friday brings industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment data.
Locally next week we’ll see housing finance numbers – a hot topic at the moment – NAB’s business confidence survey and Westpac’s consumer confidence survey – a very important one at this time of the year.
AGM season is all but over, but not quite. Next week’s meetings include those of Macquarie Group ((MQG)), Westpac ((WBC)) and Suncorp ((SUN)).
On Friday, S&P/ASX will announce the pending changes to index components for this quarter.
