WHAT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT IN THE US:
· S&P -0.2%, again hugged record before late fade.
· Commodity bounce stalled on fresh USD boost - to 11yr high - from strong Jan Durables, higher-than-expected CPI core.
· Gold eased back, copper dropped from a 6-week high. Oil back below $61 – ultimately the difference on the day.
· Exxon & Chevron claimed 16pts of Dow’s 10pts loss; Transocean -1.6% reported Q4 loss & $1.2bn write-down – credit rating now junk at S&P.
WHAT’S UP THIS MORNING IN THE EAST:
· Asia ok. India/China/Hong Kong all in the green.
· Japan ‘unchanged’ at 7yr high on Jan Household Spend -5.1% y/y a 10th straight drop, core inflation ex-tax slowest since May ‘13.
· Australia +0.3% closed around day’s high. BHP +0.3% & Rio +1.1% indicate London +0.5%.
SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS:
· Expect AllShare +0.25%. From SA close yesterday, gold unchanged ($1209), plat -$7 ($1173), copper unchanged ($2.68/lb), oil -1.2% ($60.90), USDZAR +0.2% (11.54), S&P +0.2%.
TODAYS KEY DATA POINTS:
· 7am+: SA earnings (OML, ITU), Europe earnings (BASF, Lloyds, Rightmove, etc)
· 10am+: Germany Feb CPI
· 2pm: SA Jan Trade Balance (-R7.8bn)
· 3.30pm: US Q4 GDP second read (+2.5% q/q annualized)
· 4.45pm: US Feb Chicago Purch Manager
· 5pm: US Jan Pending Home Sales, Feb Uni of Mich Cons Conf final read