Economy
As expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate by 25 bps on Tuesday to 3.35% -- marking the ninth consecutive rate hike. In particular, Governor Philip Lowe’s statement highlighted that robust domestic demand as well as global factors are…
Powell’s much anticipated comments to the Economic Club of Washington on Tuesday did not signal a shift in the Fed’s outlook following Friday’s unexpectedly strong jobs report. Instead, in his first appearance since last week’s 25bp rate hike, he highlighted…
The S&P 500 is up by 14.9% since its October 2022 low. It surged 7.1% this year alone. The quick snapback after entering a bear market last year raises the question about the sustainability of the rally in US stocks. In terms of technical measures, investor…
The February Sentix Index continues to send a positive signal about investor morale. The Eurozone measure jumped 9.5 points to -8, beating expectations of a more muted rise to -13.5. Notably, the February surge marks the fourth consecutive increase and brings…
In the monthly Daily Insights Survey we conducted last week, we asked our readers about their outlook for global equities. Notably, 57% of the respondents noted that relative to three months ago, the 12-month outlook for global equities has improved, which…
US financial conditions have been easing since mid-October and are now back in accommodative territory. The equity rally, weakening dollar, lower bond yields and tighter credit spreads have all contributed to looser financial conditions in the US economy.…
The Fed’s actions at its meeting last Wednesday were no surprise – downshifting to 25 basis points while guiding for more hikes was widely expected – but Chair Powell’s newly conciliatory tone at the press conference helped to spark a two-day equity rally. We remain overweight equities, expecting the S&P 500 to rally into the mid-4,000s at some point in the first half.
The ISM PMI delivered a positive signal about service sector conditions in the US. The headline index jumped six points to 55.2 – returning to expansionary territory and beating expectations of a milder increase to 50.5. The details of the release were all…
The US Jobs report delivered good news about labor market conditions in January. The 517 thousand surge in nonfarm payrolls was nearly triple the anticipated 188 thousand gain and the largest monthly increase since July 2022. Increases in leisure &…