Face of Nation : CommSec chief economist Craig James says the futures market is pointing to a loss of 12 points at the start of trade on Monday, following a late-week slump on Wall Street. Reports on Friday that the White House was considering delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges stoked uncertainty around US-China trade relations, with technology stocks falling the most.
Mr James said declines in the oil and gold price will weigh on those two sectors of the Australian share market as it opens “a little bit soft” on Monday. The Dow Jones closed the week 71 points lower while the NASDAQ dropped 91 points.
“It is the final day of September and also the September quarter so there may be a little bit of volatility right at the end of the month and the quarter,” he said. But he said investors wouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves with a fair bit of data set to come through over the week and a Reserve Bank board meeting due on Tuesday.
“Most economists do expect an interest rate cut to occur but it’s by no means a foregone conclusion so we’ll be looking fairly closely at that happening on Tuesday,” Mr James said.
Globally, Purchasing Manager’s Index surveys will give insights into the manufacturing and services sector, and US employment figures are expected to be released on Friday.
“That’s always considered one of the more important economic indicators released over the week,” Mr James said. There will also be data released on house prices, retail trade, building approvals and international trade.
Meanwhile, Mr James said developments in US-China trade negotiations will continue to “very much at the uppermost”, as they have been for some time.
