weekly-market-report-analysis

Main Market events and news from last week

Here are 5 main market movers from last week.

Know the current trend and start the week with positive trades.

1. Japan Inflation rate rising

Consumer prices in Japan remained steady with the overall inflation rate rising 0.5% on the year in March.

The data was in line with the median estimates and consumer prices ticked higher from 0.2% in February.

Core CPI which excludes the volatile food and energy prices rose 0.8% on the year beating estimates of a 0.7% increase.

The Bank of Japan also held its monetary policy meeting last week.

The central bank did not make any changes to the interest rates which are steady at -0.10%

2. Australian employment rose

Australia released its monthly unemployment figures this week.

Data showed that the employment rose 25.7k during the month of March while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% during the period.

The unemployment rate held steady despite job gains.

The data underlined the fact that the Reserve Bank of Australia could potentially remain on the sidelines with no rush to cut interest rates.

The gains in the unemployment report came mostly with an increase in full time jobs compared to part-time workers.

The under-utilization rate picked up 0.2 percentage points to rise to 13.2% for the period.

3. Germany business confidence plunging

The latest business confidence report from Germany saw confidence in the business sector plunging to a three year low.

The
data released by the Ifo institute in Germany showed that the business climate indicator fell to 99.2 in April.

This followed an upward revision to March where the index stood at 99.7.

Economists forecast that the business climate index would rise to 99.9 during the reported month.

The business situation index was seen falling to 103.3 in April after March data was revised higher to show 103.9.

This was the lowest reading in the index since March 2017.

4. Canada cut growth forecasts

Bank of Canada held its monetary policy meeting last week on Wednesday.

As widely expected, the central bank left the key interest rates unchanged at 1.75%.

This marks a fifth consecutive month where interest rates were left unchanged.

The BoC panel cut its growth forecasts for the Canadian economy for 2019.

It expects growth to rise at a pace of 1.2% comparing to 1.7% increase from the previous forecasts given in January this year.

However, the central bank remained optimistic that growth could pick up towards the second half of the year.

The Canadian dollar fell sharply on the news erasing the pre-central bank interest rate decision.

5. US Economy on positive trend

The U.S. department of commerce released its advanced GDP report on Friday.

Data showed that the U.S. economy advanced strongly in the first quarter of the year.

The preliminary GDP report showed that the U.S. economy advanced 3.2% in the three months ending March 2019.

This followed a slower GDP growth rate in Q4 of 2018 at 2.2%.

Economists were expecting the economy to rise at a pace of 2.2% in the first quarter of the year.

The data beat the average 2% growth rate and cemented expectations that the U.S. economy is still maintaining its strong growth trend.

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Upcoming important Markets events and news

Here are 4 upcoming markets events and news that investors should focus on.

Know the expectation beforehand and continue to follow the trend.

1. U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting

The U.S. Federal Reserve will be holding its monetary policy meeting this week on Wednesday.

The monetary policy meeting comes amid a surge in the U.S. economy during the first quarter.

The Fed, at its previous meeting in March vowed to keep interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year and shifted to a dovish language.

Investors will be looking to see if the forward guidance from the Fed will change this week.

At this week’s meeting, no changes are expected to the FOMC’s interest rates which remain steady at 2.50%.

2. New Zealand quarterly employment report

New Zealand will be releasing its quarterly employment report this week.

Estimates forecast that the labor market in New Zealand might have improved during the period.

The unemployment rate is forecast to fall to 4.2% compared to 4.3% in the final quarter of 2018.

The quarterly employment change is expected to rise 0.5% on the quarter, following a weak reading of 0.1% in the previous period.

The data, if beats estimates could give some breathing space for the RBNZ as it struggles with inflation and weak economic growth.

3. Bank of England monetary policy meeting

The Bank of England will be holding its monetary policy meeting on Thursday this week.

No changes are expected from the central bank as it maintains the interest rates steady at 0.75%.

However, given that the Brexit risks have shifted to October, the BoE could potentially signal a change to its forward guidance amid mixed economic reports.

Inflation has remain close to the BoE’s 2% inflation target rate which could be an additional factor to consider.

4. US Non-Farm Payrolls report

The busy week for the U.S. continues with Friday’s payrolls report.

According to the economists polled, the U.S. economy is expected to add 181k jobs in the month of April.

This marks a slightly slower pace of job gains compared to the previous month.

In March, the U.S. economy added 196k jobs.

The monthly unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 3.8%.

Wage growth is forecast to rise 0.3% on the month, rising from 0.1% increase registered in the month before.

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