Houthi rebels continue to cause problems in the Red Sea. The Bank of Malaysia intends to hold the current rate until the end of 2024

January 19, 2024

As of Thursday’s stock market close, the Dow Jones Index (US30) was up by 0.54%, while the S&P 500 Index (US500) added 0.88% yesterday. The NASDAQ Technology Index (US100) closed positive by 1.35%, with the index setting a record high. Stocks found support on Thursday as political risks eased after the Senate passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government through March and avoid a shutdown on Saturday.

Economic news out of the US on Thursday was mixed. Weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 16,000 to a 16-month low of 187,000, indicating a stronger labor market than expected at 205,000. In addition, December housing starts fell by 4.3% m/m to 1.460 million, stronger than expectations of 1.425 million. December building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose by 1.9% m/m to 1.495 million, stronger than expectations of 1.477 million. On the downside, the Philadelphia Fed’s January business outlook survey rose by 2.2 to negative 10.6, weaker than expectations of negative 6.5.

Atlanta Fed President Bostic said yesterday that he wants to see more evidence that inflation is moving toward the Fed’s 2% target and that he expects the first-rate cut in the third quarter of this year. Markets are pricing in a 3% chance of a 25 bps rate cut at the next FOMC meeting on January 30-31 and a 55% chance of such a 25 bps rate cut at the March 19-20 meeting.

Apple (AAPL) rose by more than 3% and topped the Dow Jones Industrials Index after Bank of America upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” with a $225 price target. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares are up more than 1% after Cowen raised its target price on the stock to $185 from $130. Marvel Technology (MRVL) shares are up more than 4% after Cowen raised its price target on the stock to $75 from $65. Boeing (BA) is up more than 4% after it received an order for 150 Max jets from Indian airline Akasa Air.

Equity markets in Europe were mostly up yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 (FR 40) gained 1.13% yesterday, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) added 0.13% on Thursday, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed positive by 0.17%.

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The report on the ECB’s December 13-14 meeting was somewhat hawkish as policymakers brushed off expectations of a rate cut and said they were concerned that market speculation over monetary easing could derail the disinflationary process. Swaps put the odds of an ECB rate cut at -25 bps at 3% at the next meeting on January 25 and 23% at the March 7 meeting.

On Thursday, the IEA again raised its forecast for global oil demand growth for 2024, although its forecast remains below OPEC expectations, and said the market looks well-supplied thanks to strong growth outside the producer group. The IEA expects global oil supply to grow by 1.5 mb/d to a new high of 103u5 mb/d in 2024, helped by record output from the US, Brazil, Guyana, and Canada. However, according to the report, there are concerns that the conflict between the US and China may regain attention as the US elections approach, which would negatively impact energy demand.

Attacks on ships by Houthi rebels continued on Thursday. Tanker traffic through the Bab-el-Mandab Strait is down 58% from 2023 at this time, according to consultancy Vortexa.

Asian markets were mixed yesterday. Japanese Nikkei 225 (JP225) was down by 0.03%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) was up by 1.59% on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) increased by 0.75% on the day, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was negative by 0.63% on Thursday.

Japan’s Core Machinery Orders for November fell by 4.9% m/m, weaker than expectations of 0.8% m/m and the biggest decline in 6 months. The nationwide core CPI fell from 2.5% to 2.3% y/y as expected. This situation pushes back the Bank of Japan’s plans for policy normalization. There is a high probability of no change until April as policymakers need to see stronger wage growth, which will only become evident after the spring wage negotiations.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is likely to leave the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 3.00% on Jan 24 and hold it at least until the end of 2024 as price pressures are expected to intensify and economic growth remains robust. This forecast was made even though inflation fell to 1.5% in November — the lowest level since March 2021 — and remains below the government’s 3%-4% forecast for 2023, partly due to BNM raising rates by 125 basis points between May 2022 and May 2023. With the Malaysian ringgit appreciating nearly 3% against the US dollar in 2024 and markets expecting the US Federal Reserve to cut rates aggressively this year, the need for BNM to ease policy in the near term will be limited.

S&P 500 (US500) 4,780.94 +41.73 (+0.88%)

Dow Jones (US30) 37,468.61 +201.94 (+0.54%)

DAX (DE40) 16,567.35 +135.66 (+0.83%)

FTSE 100 (UK100) 7,459.09 +12.80 (+0.17%)

USD Index 103.40 -0.05 (-0.05%)

News feed for 2024.01.19:

– Japan National Core Consumer Price Index at 01:30 (GMT+2);
– UK Retail Sales (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2);
– World Economic Forum Annual Meetings at 10:00 (GMT+2);
– Eurozone ECB President Lagarde Speaks at 12:00 (GMT+2);
– Canada Retail Sales (m/m) at 15:30 (GMT+2);
– US Existing Home Sales (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+2);
– US Michigan Consumer Sentiment (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+2);
– US FOMC Member Daly Speaks at 23:15 (GMT+2).

By JustMarkets

This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.

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Houthi rebels continue to cause problems in the Red Sea. The Bank of Malaysia intends to hold the current rate until the end of 2024