ASX200: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves U.S Moves and China PMI Numbers in Focus

The ASX200

It was another bearish day for the ASX200 on Thursday. Following a 0.28% decline from Wednesday, the ASX200 slipped by 0.15% to end the day at 7,225.

While it was a mixed day for the Big-4 banks, commodity and, ultimately, tech stocks left the ASX200 in the red, reversing a late move into positive territory.

Economic data from Australia failed to impress, with concerns over COVID-19 and a shift in the FED’s policy outlook weighing once more.

The Stats

It was a relatively busy morning, with finalized retail sales and trade data in focus.

In October, retail sales rose by 4.9%, which was in line with prelim figures. Retail sales had risen by 1.3% in September.

Of greater significance were trade figures for October.

Australia’s trade surplus, narrowed from A$11.82bn to A$11.22bn in October.

According to the ABS,

• Goods and services exports fell 3% to A$1,491m, with the decline stemming from falling iron ore prices.
• Goods and services imports fell by 3% to A$887m, the decline attributed to a fall in the imports of capital goods.

The Market Movers

It was a mixed day for the banks. CBA rallied by 2.15%, with Macquarie Group ending the day up by 1.47%. ANZ and NAB also found support, rising by 0.19% and by 0.80% respectively. Westpac bucked the trend, however, falling by 0.78%.

The commodity stocks had a bearish day. Newcrest Mining led the way down, sliding by 2.42%, with Rio Tinto falling by 1.63%. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and BHP Group saw relatively modest losses of 0.12% and 0.48% respectively.

Amongst the tech stocks, Xero Ltd (-5.11%) and Afterpay Ltd (-6.09%) saw particularly heavy losses.

Other Asian Markets

Elsewhere, it was a mixed session. The CSI300 and the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.25% and by 0.55% respectively, while the Nikkei ended the day down by 0.65%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a quieter day ahead on the Aussie economic calendar. From Australia, there are no material stats to provide direction through the early part of the day. The lack of stats will leave the ASX200 in the hands of the U.S markets from overnight and the U.S futures early on.

Later in the morning, China service sector PMI numbers from China will influence.

Away from the economic calendar, the markets will also need to continue monitoring COVID-19 news updates from across the globe.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was up by 52 points.

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