ASX200: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves COVID-19 and Commodities in Focus

The Market Movers

It was another mixed day for the banks. ANZ and NAB fell by 0.66% and 0.49% respectively, with Westpac ending the day down by 0.05%. Macquarie Group ended the day up by 1.08%, however, with CBA rising by 0.36%.

Concerns over net interest margins continued to peg back the big-4 on the day, however.

Commodity stocks also had a mixed session. Newcrest Mining fell by 0.72%. BHP Group rose by 1.14%, however, with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and Rio Tinto ending the up by 0.85% and by 0.83% respectively.

Other Asian Markets

Elsewhere, it was a mixed session. The CSI300 and Nikkei 225 Seng saw gains of 1.08% and 0.50% respectively, while the Hang Seng Index slid by 1.07%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the Aussie economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of Australia or China to provide direction.

The lack of stats will leave commodity prices and COVID-19 news updates to influence.

Following new lockdown measures across a number of EU member states, supply chain disruption may become even more exasperated. Such an eventually would lead to a further pickup in inflation, while also creating greater economic uncertainty.

On the monetary policy front, the PBoC is in action this morning. The markets are not expecting any moves on Loan Prime Rates, however.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was down by 45 points.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.