Early Morning Call: RBA rate hike erases AUD gains; Sainsbury's trading statement
AUD/USD holds Monday’s gains as RBA raises rates by 50bps for a second time. Earnings from Sainsbury's today; also watching all-sessions reaction on TSLA stock following poor sales data and BTC write down.
APAC outlook
Asia-Pacific (APAC) equity markets closed higher, led by the Japan 225 ending the session up 1.03%. The Australia 200 rose by 0.25%.
As expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increased its cash rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 1.35%, back to its highest level since May 2019. The Australian dollar lost some ground against the greenback at the announcement, erasing the gains it had made prior to the decision.
In China, Caixin services PMI rose to 54.5 in June, marking the first expansion in the sector in months, and the sharpest rise since July 2021. Japan Jibun bank services PMI shows the activity in the sector rose to 54 - its highest level since 2013. Later this morning, S&P Global PMI final data for May will be released in Europe.
In Taiwan, the world's largest contract electronics maker, Foxconn reported an overnight jump in sales of 31% in June year-on-year (YoY), and raised its full-year business outlook, citing strong sales of smartphones and servers, despite rising inflation and slowing demand concerns.
Indices
European indices opened higher, after a positive session yesterday for the FTSE 100 and CAC 40. Germany’s DAX 40 fell 0.31% after the country recorded its first seasonally-adjusted trade deficit in more than 30 years.
In the US, equity markets will reopen after Independence Day. At 3pm, factory orders are expected to rise by 0.5% on May month-on-month (MoM).
Equities
Sainsbury's trading statement shows that first quarter (Q1) like-for-like sales excluding fuel were down 4% in last 16 weeks. Clothing sales fell 5% in the last 11 weeks, after a drop of 30% in the first five weeks.
There are similar patterns at Argos: down 7% in the last 11 weeks and -19% in the first five weeks of the quarter.
Also watch out for Tesla at the open, at 9am on the IG all-sessions stock market. The electric carmaker reported on Saturday that it delivered 254,000 vehicles in the second quarter, its first back-to-back quarterly drop in more than two years. This was well below the 350,000 estimated by analysts.
Tesla is also facing a $440 million write-downs on its bitcoin holdings after a slump in the digital currency's value. The carmaker bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin early last year in a radical move that made it the biggest company to move part of its cash reserves into cryptocurrency.
Tesla reports earnings on Wednesday 20 July.
Commodities
On the commodity front, European gas supply is under added pressure. Today Norwegian offshore workers begin a strike, asking for wage hikes to compensate for rising inflation.
Metal prices remain weak. Copper remains below $8,000. Zinc remains near its recent lows but is up for a second straight day, a first in five weeks.
After a longer weekend than usual in the US, we'll see later on if Chicago Wheat and Corn prices continue to drop. Last week was a second straight week of heavy declines for grain prices in the US, on rising hopes that end-of-summer harvests would be plentiful, not only in the US, but in Europe and Australia.
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
Start trading forex today
Find opportunity on the world’s most-traded – and most-volatile – financial market.
- Trade spreads from just 0.6 points on EUR/USD
- Analyse with clear, fast charts
- Speculate wherever you are with our intuitive mobile apps
See an FX opportunity?
Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re onto something.
- Log in to your demo
- Take your position
- See whether your hunch pays off
See an FX opportunity?
Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.
- Get spreads from just 0.6 points on popular pairs
- Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
- See and react to breaking news in-platform
See an FX opportunity?
Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take your position.
Live prices on most popular markets
- Equities
- Indices
- Forex
- Commodities
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All share prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.
