Wednesday 19th February 2020

The markets have returned to adopting a more cautious approach to the impact of COVID-19, after Apple said it didn’t expect to meet its forward guidance. NAB’s Gavin Friend talks about the market impact, which has seen further strength in the US dollar and a fall in global equities. A survey of analysts in the Eurozone showed that hope is diminishing that the slide in the economy is bottoming out, although it might spark finance ministers to move faster on stimulus measures. Locally, the RBA minutes yesterday suggested they are more accommodating to an easing policy than many had expected. Japan’s trade balance numbers today could help determine whether they will be the first major economy this year to hit a recession.