Pre-Open Data
Key Data for the Week
- Monday – UK – Nationwide House Prices
- Tuesday – EUR – Consumer and Economic Confidence
- Tuesday – US – Consumer Confidence
- Wednesday – CHINA – Manufacturing PMI
- Wednesday – EUR – Consumer Price Index
- Thursday – AUS – Trade Balance
- Thursday – EUR – Unemployment Rate
- Friday – AUS – Housing Finance
- Friday – US – Unemployment Rate
- Friday – US – Trade Balance
Australian Market
The Australian sharemarket added 0.5% on Friday, while the local market ended the week lower for the first weekly loss in six. The Utilities and Materials sectors were the best performers, led by Boral, which gained 6.4% after Seven Group increased its takeover bid. Mining heavyweights were all stronger as BHP, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto all rose between 0.6% and 0.8%.
The Consumer Staples was the weakest performing sector, dragged lower by Woolworths which fell 2.6%, the second straight day of losses since spinning off its $11 billion Endeavour company.
The Financials sector was strengthened by the big four banks; ANZ led the gains up 0.9%, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.6%, while NAB and Westpac added 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Magellan Financial Group and Australian Ethical Investment outperformed, up 0.9% and 1.7% respectively. For the week, the big banks all suffered notable declines as Commonwealth Bank slipped 4.3% and Westpac lost 3.7%.
The Australian futures market points to a 0.07% rise today, driven by stronger overseas markets on Friday.
Overseas Markets
European sharemarkets rose on Friday, as the broad based STOXX Europe 600 eked out a 0.1% gain, while over the course of the week rose 1.2%. Credit Suisse led the Financials, up 1.9%, while Barclays added 0.3%. Retailers outperformed following Nike’s Q4 earnings announcement; Adidas lifted 6.4%, JD Sports Fashion gained 4.4% and Puma rose 2.0%.
US sharemarkets rallied last week, rebounding from the previous week’s sell-off, however, stocks were mixed on Friday as all sectors closed higher except Information Technology. Nike surged 15.5% after the company forecast full-year sales would top US$50 billion as Q1 revenue nearly doubled to US$12.3 billion from US$6.3 billion a year earlier. Amazon was amongst the weakest performers, down 1.4%, while Alibaba lifted 4.6% to rebound from recent weakness.
Over the course of the week, the Dow Jones gained 3.4%, the S&P 500 added 2.7% and the NASDAQ rose 2.4%.
CNIS Perspective
As we touched on last week, the wealth of American household balance sheets surged over the first quarter of 2021, led by stimulus measures and low interest rates.
The same can be said for Australian households according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian’s combined household net worth rose 4.3% in the March quarter, and 15.3% on the same time last year, to record the strongest annual gain in wealth in 11 years.
Unsurprisingly, property prices contributed 55% of the growth in net wealth, with share price increases also taking a large 26% stake.
The big benefit to the country is how this increased perception of wealth flows through to the economy. Higher wealth generally leads to increased household spending, and that could mean higher demand for workers, upward pressure on wages and prices for goods and services.
Should you wish to discuss this or any other investment related matter, please contact your Investment Services Team on (02) 4928 8500.
Disclaimer
The material contained in this publication is the nature of the general comment only, and neither purports, nor is intended to be advice on any particular matter. Persons should not act nor rely upon any information contained in or implied by this publication without seeking appropriate professional advice which relates specifically to his/her particular circumstances. Cutcher & Neale Investment Services Pty Limited expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a client of Cutcher & Neale Investment Services Pty Limited or not, who acts or fails to act as a consequence of reliance upon the whole or any part of this publication.
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