In Australia, it’s the run-up to the end of the financial year next Sunday, June 30, and stock market trading on Friday, June 28, that will dominate markets.
Analysts say we should watch for fund managers of all sizes and some companies trying to dress up their end of financial year, half year (interim) quarter and month figures by buying and selling shares to set market prices or stuffing their balance sheets with cash.
They are all old tricks and include companies delaying payments to the start of the 2019-20 financial year, or getting pre-payments into their accounts to boost liquidity and cash holdings at the end of the financial year, the quarter or half year.
Share trading this Thursday and Friday should see the share prices of quite a few companies move a touch oddly at times.
Elsewhere in the market, Metcash, the 4th supermarket group reports its 2018-19 full year figures today and fast food group, Collins Foods reports its figures tomorrow.
And RBA Governor is on a panel in Canberra later today, while the central bank’s private credit figures for May will be released on Friday.
Offshore it will be the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Japan on Friday and Saturday, with an expected meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping holding all the attention and with expectations the meeting will restart trade talks between the two countries and leaders.
The leaders meeting will be the centerpiece of the high powered meeting which has little else of relevance to discuss.
But as important as that will be the markets will be watching the tensions between Trump and his administration and Iran will hold attention for much of the week as well.
That was especially after Trump went out of his way late last week and the weekend to downplay last week’s events, especially the characterisation of the shooting down of a US spy drone.
The rise in tension saw golds and oil prices chase themselves higher and a flight to bonds that eased Friday afternoon in the US as Trump switched from belligerence to a calmer stance.
Media reports early in the day had the US ready to launch strikes against Iranian targets, then they were halted, ostensibly because Trump said the possible loss of life would be too great.
So far as US data is concerned the focus will be on the various private consumption (PCE) readings from the May data.
The main bit of data will be the core deflator inflation figure to be released Friday which is likely to show a fall to an annual rate of 1.5%, well under the Fed’s 2% inflation target.
There’s the end of month consumer confidence report, new home sales and home prices (all tomorrow), durable goods orders (Wednesday) and pending home sales (Thursday).
And there’s the third and final estimate of first-quarter economic growth later in the week
In Europe there’s more Brexit tooing and frooing in the UK as the ruling Conservatives look at the two candidates for PM – Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. Johnson will win.
Eurozone economic sentiment data fo for June is out on Thursday and the first inflation estimate for June as well on Friday.
In Japan, labour market data for May will be released Friday along with industrial production data for the same month.
