NAB Morning Call

Tuesday 8th September 2020A drop in the pound was the only significant market move today, driven by threats from Boris Johnson to walk away in mid-October if he doesn’t get the Brexit deal he wants. Normally such remarks are taken as brinkmanship as negotiations near the finish line, but today there was a market reaction – perhaps because there’s little else to go on. Data from Australia today will give a clear indication of the impact of the Melbourne lockdown on other states – the NAB Business Survey for August and the weekly payrolls numbers. NAB’s Tapas Strickland also talks through a Bloomberg survey showing the expectation for further rate cuts and increased bond buying from the RBA.

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Monday 7th September 2020US jobs data on Friday helped the equities market to regain a little composure as it fell for the second day. It also saw Treasury yields rise sharply, steepening the curve. NAB’s Rodrigo Catril proffers his opinion on how much of this is a short-term response and how much the start of a longer-term shift. The Fed’s Jerome Powell said on Friday that the recovery ”will get harder from here”. There’s also the discussion on the impact on the Australian economy of the extension to the Melbourne lock-down announced yesterday.

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Friday 4th September 2020There have been massive falls in US equities, particularly tech stocks. NAB’s David de Garis says thin trading in summer can always create sharper moves, but there’s little doubt a correction was overdue and tech stocks have borne the brunt of it. There’s been no encouraging news to divert attention – the Services ISM number came in lower than expected, with the employment component still in contraction. The weekly jobless claims numbers remain persistently high, with non-farm payrolls providing more detail tonight. And the Fed’s Charles Evans has suggested it’ll take more than two years to see a full recovery. The biggest victim of this negative mood – other than retail investors feeling the equity hit – is the Australian dollar.

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Thursday 3rd September 2020The US dollar managed a slight recovery in the overnight session, which has also seen continued growth in US equities, echoed across the Atlantic. On today’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Ray Attrill why the positive sentiment when the data we’re seeing isn’t so positive? ADP employment numbers were softer than expected and the Fed’s Beige Book suggested the recovery in the US is slowing. They also discuss yesterday’s GDP numbers for Australia and the whole gamut of services PMI numbers out later today.

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Wednesday 2nd September 2020Deflation in Europe comes as no surprise, just as the shift in the Fed’s monetary policy seems likeold news, but NAB’s Gavin Friend explains how the markets are still adjusting to it. Data releases have largely been positive, with a higher than expected increase in the USA ISM, and the Caixin PMI for China is at its highest level since 2011. So, what can we expect from Australia’s GDP numbers for Q2? Will they signal that the RBA, and the government, needs to do more to help the economy recover?

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Tuesday 1st September 2020The Australian and NZ dollars reached two-year highs in the overnight session, with the US dollar declining further. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Rodrigo Catril whether the trend will continue, wand whether we could see the Aussie reach 80 US cents late next year. There’s also discussion on Warren Buffet’s investments in Japan, Richard Clarida’s explanation on the Fed’s policy change and how the rate of US COVID-19 fatalities seems to be reacting sluggishly to the fall in cases. Plus, what to expect from the RBA today and the US ISM manufacturing number tomorrow morning.

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Monday 31st August 2020NAB’s Ray Attrill says the US dollar bore the brunt of Friday’s reflective thinking on Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech. He says, if the market believes the Fed will run inflation up to 3%, then real US interest rates would be lower and higher inflation should force the currency down over time, hence the response. But isn’t this somewhat hypothetical when inflation has struggled to get anywhere near 3 percent? There’s also discussion about US confidence data, China’s ISM numbers today and the impact of Shinzo Abe’s resignation announcement.

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Friday 28th August 2020Jerome Powell used his virtual address to the Jackson Hole Symposium to announcer the Fed’s strategy of targeting an ‘average’ 2% inflation rate, a subtle change that is likely to keep interest rates lower for longer. NAB’s David de Garis says that lower rates will help to propel investment once confidence returns, but it’ll take a while to eat into the current spare capacity. Meanwhile another million people signed for unemployment benefit in the US, business confidence seems to be picking up in Europe and the ABS provided confirmation that private capex in Australia was way down in Q2. Of course, the Q3 numbers will be a lot more interesting.

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Thursday 27th August 2020There’s continued optimism in the markets, with equities reaching new highs again, helped on by better than expected durable goods orders in the US, and despite rising US-China tensions and the potential impact of Hurricane Laura. NAB’s Rodrigo Catril also discusses the continued interest in Australian bonds and the impact on GDP of yesterday’s construction numbers and today’s private capex read. Plus, what will be said at the virtual Jackson Hole, which kicks off today.

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Wednesday 26th August 2020The US dollar is down again this morning, with equities up and touching new highs again. More significantly, we’ve seen sizeable increase in government bond yields in the US and Europe. NASB’s David de Garis talks through the factors at play, including hope that the US China trade relationship will continue as planned in the phase one deal, and concerns that a bigger supply of bonds in the pipeline could be inflationary. Meanwhile the IFO numbers from Germany gave ground for some optimism, despite rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Yet consumer confidence in the US has fallen, even as home sales increase 13%, to levels not seen since the subprime crisis. Good news or bad?

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