Global Market Report - December 18 2017

Most global stock exchanges close at some point over the next two weeks, but there are plenty of economic releases to come before the end of the year

James Gard 18 December, 2017 | 10:23AM
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Asia

The Nikkei 225 closed at 22,901 on Monday, having started the year at 19,594, and the Japanese market has been one of the best performers this year. The market-capitalisation weighted Topix is up from over 1,500 points in early January to above 1,800 points today, a rise of 20%, beating the return from the equal-weighted Nikkei.

Japan has a public holiday on December 23 for Emperor’s Day but Christmas and Boxing Days are normal working days.

After a flurry of central bank activity last week – the Federal Reserve raised interest rates but the Bank of England and European Central Bank made no changes to monetary policy – the Bank of Japan steps up this week.

China likewise has normal trading days during Christmas but the country observes the January 1 holiday. The CSI 300 index, which amalgamates the Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges, is up nearly 20% this year.

Hong Kong observes December 25, 26 and January 1 as public holidays. The Hang Seng index is up over 30% so far this year. The index hit a pre-financial crisis high of 30,000 points last month but has struggled since. In-favour tech stock Tencent (00700) has more than doubled its share price this year.

Europe

Ahead of the Christmas break, the standout economics data will be Thursday’s UK government borrowing figures and the final estimate of Q3 GDP on Friday. The UK economy is expected to have grown by 0.4% quarter on quarter, in line with previous estimates. Friday also sees trade data in the form of the current account balance for the third quarter.

For Christmas week, BBA home loan figures and Nationwide house price numbers will be released from the middle of the week onwards.

Looking ahead, the London Stock Exchange has a shortened trading day this Friday, December 23 and the following Friday, December 30, with no trading occurring on Monday December 25, Tuesday December 26 and Monday January 1.

Europe’s stock markets have followed the global move higher this year, with Germany’s Dax on track for a rise of around 15%. Today saw the release of eurozone CPI data, which came in as forecast at an increase of 0.1% for the month.

North America

In terms of this week’s earnings, global delivery firm Fedex (FDX) reports after the market closes on Tuesday, while Canadian firm BlackBerry (BB) reports before the market opens on Wednesday.

The US stock markets, barring any late collapse, will close the year over 20% higher after a run of record closes.

The New York Stock Exchange is closed on Monday, December 25 but – unlike the London Stock Exchange – will be open for trading on the next working day.

This week, November home starts data will be released and Thursday will see US GDP figures, third estimate, for the third quarter – on the same day weekly jobless numbers are available. Friday also sees the release of key figures on the US consumer: US durable goods orders are expected to have expanded by 2.2% in November, a provisional estimate. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which measures price changes for goods and services,

Next Wednesday, December 27, will see US consumer confidence figures for December.

Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange will be closed on Monday December 25, Tuesday December 26 and Monday January 1. The country’s GDP figure – to the end of October – will come out on Friday ahead of the two bank holidays the following week. 

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar
Rating
BlackBerry Ltd2.35 USD1.29Rating
FedEx Corp299.97 USD1.63Rating
Tencent Holdings Ltd400.60 HKD-1.72Rating

About Author

James Gard

James Gard  is senior editor for Morningstar.co.uk

 

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