A quiet week is ahead for investors after the higher pace of activity in the wake of the meeting of the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, Bank of England and US Federal Reserve – the latter’s significant change in stance on the pace of future interest rates contributing to the continuation of the rebound on global markets.
Profit reports move back to centre stage in a holiday shortened week. Easter means local markets (and many offshore) will close early on Thursday and not re-open until next Monday or Tuesday.
Here, there’s not much in the way of major data releases, so a handful of profit reports will interest investors.
Companies in the Washington H. Soul Pattinson Group will report this week, starting with New Hope, then TPG, followed by linked companies Soul Pattinson and Brickworks. These releases will be out over the next three days, with Soul Patts and Brickworks due out on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the interim financial results from Nufarm, the big agricultural chemicals company, will be released.
Investors are watching to see if there is any comment on the rising opposition to the use of its key product – glyphosate-based weedkillers.
Tuesday sees the first major speech of the year from RBA Governor Glenn Stevens.
He has appeared before the House of Representatives Economics Committee in February, but this will be his first public address in what are his last nine months in the job. He is due to speak around 4.30pm.
Earlier tomorrow RBA Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Malcolm Edey is a panel participant in a session at the ASIC Forum.
Data from the Bureau of Statistics is mostly second tier – home prices in the December quarter last year, skilled vacancies, population growth will also be released, more detailed information from last week’s labour force report and a quarterly survey on wealth.
Globally the focus over the next week will be the early or ‘flash’ March business conditions survey details for the US, Europe and Japan (out Tuesday and Tuesday night, our time).
These will be watched for signs the US manufacturing sector has shaken off its start to the year slide, and whether the eurozone and some Asian economies have seen an improvement after the slow start to the year.
In the US, existing home sales data for the last month will be out tonight, home prices for February (Tuesday night, our time), new home sales (Wednesday night, our time ) and durable goods orders (Thursday night, our time). Economists are expecting these releases to confirm the US economy has shaken off the slow start to the year.
Apple is also expected to release a new, smaller iPhone in a major launch overnight tonight, as well as new iPads and products for the Apple Watch. The tech giant is also back in court this week with the US government over a development brawl with the US government which wants Apple to unlock the iPhone used by one of the terrorists involved in the San Bernardino shootings.
The major release will be the third and final estimate (for now) of US 4th quarter 2015 GDP. That will be issued Friday night, our time, even though it is a public holiday. The second estimate a month ago saw a surprise lift in the rate of growth to an annual 1% from 0.7% in the first estimate in late January.
In Asia, Japanese inflation data to be released on Friday and that is expected to show that headline inflation remains around zero and that core inflation remains very low at around 0.7% year on year, well below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
