Kingfisher: third profit warning in six months
Kingfisher warned on the outlook for the third time in six months, saying current-year profit would fall short of analysts' expectations.
The Bank of Japan
Since Bank of Japan (BOJ) rates rose out of negative territory six days ago, USD/JPY has been trading above 150. In the early hours of Monday, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs warned against speculators trying to sell off the yen, saying its weakness did not reflect fundamentals and describing the recent yen moves as "speculative."
The Dallas Fed manufacturing index
There is very little on the macroeconomics expected on Monday. The market awaits only a few US indicators. At 12.30 p.m.: Chicago Fed national activity index. It will be followed at 2 p.m. by a new home sale and the Dallas Fed manufacturing index 30 minutes later.
US Q4 GDP
Later this week, the currency market could move with the release of final estimates of UK and US Q4 gross domestic product (GDP). That will be on Thursday. In the UK, final estimates should show a 0.3% contraction quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and a 0.2% contraction on an annual basis. Over in the US, the economy should have expanded by an annualized 3.2%. The market will have to wait until Friday to get updates on the Japanese economy, with a flurry of indicators: industrial production, retail sales, Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), and unemployment rate. Over in the US, the core Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index is expected to decelerate to 0.3% in February month-over-month (MoM) after a 0.4% rise the previous month.
Kingfisher
Kingfisher warned on the outlook for the third time in six months, saying current-year profit would fall short of analysts' expectations. For 2023, the home improvement retailer posted an operating profit of £580 million, down 20%. Sales fell 0.6% to £12.98 billion. It keeps its dividend unchanged at 12.4 pence.
Oil
On the commodity front, the Baker Hughes survey showed an increase in the total rig count to 624, down five from the previous week. The number of oil rigs in operation fell by one to 509. Traders will also be attentive to cocoa prices, after futures have risen more than 41% so far in March.
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