Starting tomorrow, SIA Wealth Morning Minutes will be going on summer hiatus. Regular publication should resume on or about August 29th.
The new trading week is off to a positive start with US index trading up 0.2%-0.3%, building on the rebound which started late last week. European markets are also in the green so far today with the Dax up 0.3% and the FTSE up 0.6%.
Commodities are staging big bounces today with US Crude Oil up 1.1%, Natural Gas up 4.5% and Copper up 1.4%. In currency trading, cryptos are mixed, Gold is up 0.3% and the Japanese Yen is giving back some of its recent gains in what so far looks like a normal trading correction.
There are a number of economic reports due over the course of the week, but the two main events are US consumer prices on Wednesday and US retail sales on Thursday. These two reports may add more color on how much pressure the Fed is under to cut interest rates next month and if it does, whether the main driver is victory over inflation or a weak economy.
Earnings season resumes this week with results due from big US retailers and a few technology companies. Headliners this week include Home Depot on Tuesday, Cisco Systems on Wednesday, and Walmart on Thursday. In Canada, Barrick Gold beat market expectations this morning, and Sun Life Financial reports after the close this afternoon.
The political calendar is also light this week, but as the days progress, we may see some posturing and positioning ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention.