Asia
Markets in the Asia-Pacific caught the tech-fuelled anxiety emanating from Wall Street on Friday after Twitter’s (TWTR) results knocked 20% off the social media company’s market value. Nevertheless, the Nasdaq’s near-1.5% fall on Friday was not matched by losses in China, Hong Kong and Japan on Monday, where losses were under 1%.
In fact, ongoing optimism about China’s fiscal stimulus helped emerging markets to shrug off the global jitters in developed markets. China’s manufacturing sector will be in focus tomorrow with the release of the Purchasing Managers’ Index survey.
Japan’s central bank meets tomorrow and while there is no change expected in interest rates, the outlook will be more closely watched than usual by yen traders. The Bank of Japan is expected to start signalling the end of its ultra-loose monetary policy, a process that has so far been glacial in the context of other development market policy.
Europe
Europe’s stock markets mirrored those in Asia, with modest losses seen across the board.
The FTSE 100 was below 7,700 points in midmorning trading on Monday ahead of a busy week for earnings and economics. Results from BP (BP) and from Lloyds (LLOY), Barclays (BARC), and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are the standout in the corporate calendar. The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75%, the highest level seen since spring 2009. The City is unanimously expected the increase so any surprise inaction from the Bank is likely to undo the pound’s recent gains against the dollar – although the pound-euro rate is still being depressed by Brexit uncertainty.
North America
Apple (AAPL) is the last of the tech giants to report this earnings season, with a market update due in after-hours on Tuesday. With the share price meltdown seen with Facebook (FB) and Twitter last week, there will be more than the usual scrutiny on the last of FAANG stocks, although Apple has no track record for springing unpleasant surprises on investors.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates on hold between 1.75% and 2% on Wednesday, but the event will be watched more closely than ever after recent interventions by President Trump.
Futures suggest that US stock markets will resume their weaker trend on Monday.