The equity market rebound continues as the dollar softens

The US dollar

The USD recorded its worst weekly performance since July, as it dropped at the release of non-farm payrolls on Friday. The US economy created 150,000 jobs in October. The market has expected 180,000 job creations. The September figure was also downwardly revised, to 297,000 from 336,00. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%. Equity markets rose.

The Bank of Japan

Japan is making progress towards achieving the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s 2% target, according to the bank's governor, but not enough to end ultra-loose policy just yet. "We're seeing more positive signs than before in corporate wage and price-setting behaviour. But there's still uncertainty on whether the positive cycle (of inflation and wages) will strengthen, as we predict."

Ueda

Ueda highlighted two risks to Japan's economic recovery: the impact of aggressive U.S. interest rate hikes on financial markets and China's weak growth momentum. Last week, the BOJ maintained its ultra-easy monetary settings but tweaked its bond yield control policy.

German factory orders

In Germany, factory orders unexpectedly rose in September by 0.2% month-over-month (MoM). Economists have anticipated a 1% decline.

Ryanair

Ryanair forecasts a record annual profit after fares soared this summer. Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers posted a tax profit of €2.18 billion, 59% ahead of its previous record for the period set last year and better than the €2.15 anticipated by the market. Traffic in the period was up 11% to 105 million passengers, while fares were 24% higher than last year. Ryanair now expects an after-tax profit of between €1.85 billion and €2.05 billion for the year to end in March.

Ryanair also announced its maiden ordinary dividend of €400 million. An interim payment of €200 million will be paid in February, and a final dividend of €200 million will be paid in September next year. From now on, Ryanair plans to return approximately 25% of the after-tax profit posted the previous year by way of an ordinary dividend.

Earnings reports

In the UK, a few reports are lined up throughout the week. On Tuesday, the market expects full-year earnings from Associated British Foods and a quarterly trading statement from Persimmon. On Wednesday, Marks and Spencer will update investors with their half-year reports, and so will ITV with its Q3 trading update. On Thursday, the market expects full-year earnings. from WH Smith and the Q3 report from AstraZeneca.

Uber Technologies

As for the US, the bulk of the earnings season is now behind us, but a few big names have yet to report. On Tuesday, Uber Technologies is forecast to publish earnings of 7 cents per share. This would compare to an 18-cent loss in the same quarter last year. Revenue is expected at $9.54 billion. Over the past few weeks, analysts have grown increasingly bullish on the stock, some of them upping their price target to $60 or higher. Uber shares have posted their best weekly performance since May last week.

Lyft

Lyft performance doesn't look as appealing. Uber's competitor is due to report on Wednesday. Besides earnings, investors will be looking particularly at the group's active-rider growth. To compete with Uber, Lyft had to lower its prices, potentially affecting the top line. Earnings are expected at 15 cents per share, roughly a 50% increase on the same quarter last year. Revenue is forecast at $1.14 billion.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney is scheduled to report on Wednesday. The entertainment giant, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last month, should post earnings of 71 cents per share on revenue of £21.37 billion. This compares with EPS of 30 cents and revenue of $20.15 billion in the same quarter a year ago. It was at this time last year that Bob Chapek was dismissed after a poor set of earnings and replaced by BoB Ger, who initiated a $5.5 billion cost-cutting plan, eliminating 7,000 jobs.

Walt Disney made headlines last week when it announced it was willing to buy from Comcast the 33% of Hulu it doesn't own. In a statement published on Wednesday, Disney said it was ready to pay $8.6 billion for the stake, valuing Hulu at $27.5 billion. Negotiations will undoubtedly be harsh between the two groups. The Comcast CEO recently said he thinks Hulu is worth more than double Disney's valuation. The announcement was positively received by the market, lifting the stock away from the multi-year low set last month.