WHAT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT IN THE US:
· S&P +1.1%, rallied for the second day, led by tech, to its highest level so far this month and above the 100dma.
· Netflix jumped 9.2% after Q1 new subscribers beat expectations, Amazon rallied 3.7% and Alphabet climbed 2.5%.
· DXY unchanged over the session despite trying to rally, rates also unch but the 2/10 curve made new lows.
· VIX moved lower for the 6th day in a row, dipping <15 before climbing slightly into the close.
WHAT’S UP THIS MORNING IN THE EAST:
· Asia green this morning, following US markets. China only +0.1% as potential central bank intervention weighed against the global rally.
· Hong Kong +0.7%, but off opening highs of +1.4%. Tencent +0.6% to HKD399.6, struggling to break back through the HKD400 level and below the price of the Naspers placement.
· Japan +1.1%, outperforming as Yen weakens to above 107.3/USD.
· Australia +0.3%, with energy +1.3%. BHP +0.4%, opening there and trading sideways, & Rio +1.4%, indicate London opening up +50bps.
SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS:
· Expect AllShare +50bps. From SA close yday, gold unch ($1343), plat +$6 ($939), copper +0.4% ($3.11/lb), oil +0.8% ($72.17), Dalian iron unch%, USDZAR +0.2% (12.00), S&P +0.4%.
· Today’s XDs: AVI 175c/ACG 10c/CCO GBp1/CRP GBp1.91/CPI 945c/EXX 400c/ITU GBp9.4/MTA 80c/RCL 15c/REM 204c/WBO 150c.
TODAYS KEY DATA POINTS:
· 10am: SA CPI (4.1% YoY, 0.6% MoM)
· 10.30am: UK CPI (2.7% YoY)
· 10.30am: UK PPI (2.3% YoY)
· 11am: Eurozone CPI
· 1pm: SA Retail Sales (3.0% YoY)
· 1pm: US MBA Mortgage Applications