Good Morning,
We had a good night last night…
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed for a third day after yesterday posting the strongest increase in two weeks as Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen signalled officials will be cautious in raising rates due to heightened economic risks overseas. The dollar headed for its steepest monthly drop since 2010.
Apple rallied to a three-month high, boosting technology shares, while banks rose for the first time in six days.
Investors are also awaiting the earnings season, which will unofficially start when Alcoa reports first-quarter results on April 11. Analysts forecast profits at S&P 500 companies fell 9.3 per cent in the period, compared with predictions for a 4.5 per cent drop two months ago.
In Oz, BHP and Rio were up over 5% in London…. So expect a strong bounce today.
We certainly need a bounce following the past few trading sessions…
So… What's on today?
Local data: RBA credit, HIA new home sales, job vacancies. Across the Tasman, ANZ business survey and monthly money supply/credit report.
In Canberra, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will deliver a speech on the need to reduce poverty and create job opportunities.
Overseas data: US weekly jobless claims, MNI Chicago manufacturing index March, German March unemployment, UK Fed mortgage approvals, UK fourth-quarter GDP, UK current account balance 4Q.
Overseas earnings: Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
The US hosts the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit to discuss nuclear terrorism. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on the sidelines. Through April 1 in Washington.
Stocks in focus
Commodity-related shares posted the biggest gain of the 19 industry groups on the Europe Stoxx 600. Anglo American led the advance with a 12 per cent increase as Berenberg Bank said the miner seems to be positioning itself to attract a large corporate buyer.
Thyssenkrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, climbed 8.3 per cent after Berenberg Bank said that Tata Steel's possible disposal of its UK portfolio could trigger consolidation of the industry in Europe. ArcelorMittal added 3.6 per cent.
The SPI is up 44 points this morning.
Niv
Niv Dagan is an Executive Director of Melbourne based boutique funds management and corporate advisory firm, Peak Asset Management (www.peakassetmanagement.com.au). He is also a regular financial commentator on Sky Business.
