NAB Morning Call

Friday 23rd July 2021Equities have been helped by earnings results and a little less COVID concern. On the macro front US jobless claims rose unexpectedly, but NAB’s Gavin Friend says a lot of it will be to do with seasonal adjustments related to the annual auto-tooling shutdowns. The ECB held its first meeting since it’s new straight 2 percent target, but little will change in the short term. The UK economy could be hit by track and trace ‘pings’ that are spreading like wildfire. Aussie payrolls numbers yesterday reflected the current shutdowns, which are likely to go on for much longer. Over the water New Zealand has its first day without QE – we look at the market response.

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Thursday 22nd July 2021The rebound from the COVID concerns at the start of the week is now complete, with bond yields rebounding further overnight, equities bouncing higher and commodities on the rise. NAB’s David de Garis talks about how businesses are seeing the recovery happen, even where he is in London. Globally, it seems the expectation is that COIVD won’t hinder a global recovery, particularly as vaccine numbers rise. So what does that mean for the ECB today, particularly if growth is expected to rise and their outlook remains dovish? And Brexit is back, struggling over the NI border issue that was never resolved, perhaps because there isn’t an answer.

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Wednesday 21st July 2021Curiously, much of the negative market reaction at the start of the week has seen a reversal in the last 24 hours, even though the reasons for the concern remain. The Delta variant continues to spread, vaccination rates have slowed, and case numbers are rising. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Ray Attrill if he can explain the switch in direction, with the response far stronger for equities than it is for bond traders. They also discuss the next moves for the RBA, with more lockdowns across Australia, and what to expect from the ECB tomorrow. Plus, Aussie retail sales numbers are out today. However poor they are for June, we know July will be worse.

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Tuesday 20th July 2021There’s not been a lot of economic data around, but markets have dipped sharply on the back of rising COVID cases. NABs Tapas Strickland says its being driven by the preponderance of the Delta variant. Oil is also down, in part because of the OPEC deal discussed yesterday, but also expectations of a slower global economic recovery and less international travel. Further tensions with China are adding to the uncertainty, with the US now implicating Chinese nations in the hacking of Microsoft servers earlier in the year. This will add to the tensions between Australia and China. A quiet day today, with the RBA minutes from a meeting that won’t have reflected the growing global concerns, which could delay the bank’s decision of when to taper asset purchases.

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Monday 19th July 2021OPEC reached a deal of sorts over the weekend which will see supplies increase incrementally over the next few months. NAB’s Rodrigo Catril said markets had been expecting a deal of this magnitude, so it has done little (so far) to oil prices. Meanwhile, COVID caution continues to rein over the markets, with a stronger US dollar and a weaker Aussie. US retail numbers were strong on Friday, but we discuss Google data which suggests store visits are plateauing below pre-COVID levels in most parts of the world. New Zealand’s strong inflation numbers at the end of last week cemented the likelihood of action by the RBNZ, and this week will be the ECB’s first change to issue guidance reflecting its new strategy.

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Friday 16th July 2021Markets returned to a more cautious outlook overnight, with US equities losing ground and bond yields falling. As NAB’s David de Garis explains, its difficult to find any particular reason for the change in sentiment, other than a return to concerns over COVID and the speed of economic recovery. There wasn’t anything in day two of Jerome Powell’s testimonies to cause concern and US data overnight was largely positive. The Aussie dollar felt the impact of the mood of the day, even though there was a very strong set of employment numbers yesterday. The UK’s employment numbers told a different story. And data from China suggest the slowdown is not as bad as feared, but likely to be enough to spark more stimulus from the PBoC. Today, the NZ CPI read will be the focus of attention.

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Thursday 15th July 2021There’s a world of difference in the approaches being taken by central banks in response to the COVID recovery. NAB’s Gavin Friend talks through some of them, starting with the RBNZ announcing bond buying will end next week, leaving the door open for rate rises as soon as August. The Bank of Canada is also tapering its asset purchases. Yet, as inflation rises, the Fed’s Jerome Powell has been reiterating to Congress that tapering will not start anytime soon. The UK also saw inflation rise yesterday, but the BoE is not in any hurry to change direction, neither is the RBA. Who’s got the right idea? Today we will see jobs numbers for Australia and the UK, plus the weekly unemployment claims for the US, and a heap of data from China, including Q2 GDP.

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Wednesday 14th July 2021US inflation has surprised again. It was expected to ease back after the 5% jump last month, but this time its higher still. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Tapas Strickland whether this will be enough for the Fed to be forced into tapering sooner than intended, or is it still transitory? As luck would have it, Jerome Powell is talking to Congress later today, so maybe we’ll get an inkling of a change in timelines. Also today, decisions from RBNZ and the Bank of Canada, two central banks in more of a hurry than most. Plus, China’s trade numbers, the NAB business survey and the Bank of England’s stability review.

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Tuesday 13th July 2021US stocks hit new highs as Q2 earnings season kicks off. NAB’s said it also reflects a recovery from Asia emanating from China’s easing of reserve requirements. China will be a focus today, too, with the release of trade data. US CPI is also out today. Could a combination of weaker earnings reports, a fall in trade to and from China and/or a higher-than-expected CPI dampen the mood? The other significant news overnight has been Christine Lagarde’s Bloomberg interview were she spoke about PEPP continuing in some form from 2022. Will we see central banks taking a more dovish stance as COVID numbers continue to raise concern?

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Monday 12th July 2021For most of last week markets grew increasingly cautious about the spread of the Delta variant and fears of further lockdowns in major economies, Australia included. On Friday, though, that all changed, with bond yields rising, equities breaking new highs, the US dollar back on the rise, but the Aussie also doing well along with other commodity currencies. This morning, NAB’s Ray Attrill looks for reasons behind the shift in sentiment, including better credit numbers from China and a more extensive and sharper than expected cut in the reserve requirement ratio for Chinese banks. So, has the mood shifted? It’s a busy week ahead, including US CPI numbers, which markets have been particularly sensitive too recently. Who’s to say caution doesn’t swiftly return on the back of more virus news.

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