Markets hit by China’s economic data

The gloomy markets in recent days progressed on the first trading day in June, with cautious outlook, from the Brexit and ahead of this week’s release of economic data. In Asia, the Nikkei Index slipped by 1.62%, followed by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo’s decision to delay a scheduled sales tax increase by two and a half years, putting the country’s fiscal reforms on the back burner due to growing signs of weakness in the economy.

A drop in commodity stocks influenced European markets, as mining shares struggled following data from Chinese manufacturing. China is a major buyer of precious and industrial metals, suggesting that the Chinese economy is still striving to regain traction.

Banco Poploare dragged down the Italian banking sector, which announced another heavily discounted EUR 1bn rights issue this week. The bank’s shares have plunged more than 68% year-to-date.

Travel and leisure sector also fluctuated, followed by the U.S warning of a possible terror attacks in Europe this summer, possibly in the Euro 2016 football tournament, seen as a major security challenge. Shares in French travel and tourism shares such as; Air France KLM and hotels group Accor mostly influenced the sector.

Oil and gas shares shuddered, tracking weaker oil prices, which fell on expectations that an OPEC meeting on Thursday would avoid any curbs on output.

On the currency side, the dollar fell against the Yen, as the Japanese currency drew demand for its relative safety, after online polls showed an incline in favour of the so-called “Brexit” ahead of the referendum on 23rd June. The news was unsurprisingly negative for the British Pound, which moved lower against other major currencies, dropping around 0.35% against the USD and 0.61% against the EUR.

On Wall Street, Indices traded lower, continuing on the previous session, discouraging traders by more signs of weakness in China’s economy adding also a cautious approach ahead of important economic data from the ECB and non-farm payroll in the U.S.

Luxury goods Up, Super-markets Down

Luxury-goods maker Michael Kors shares rose after profits for the current year exceeded analysts’ expectations, helped by new summer luxurious product line, drawing more customers to its stores. The company reported a profit of 98 cents a shares in the fiscal fourth quarter ended 2nd April, just above the 97 cents average estimate. Fourth quarter revenue rose 11% to $1.2 billion, also topping analysts’ $1.15 billion average projection. The company also announced a $1 billion new share buyback program.

Conversely, major supermarkets in UK are having a hard time with a registered drop in sales across the board in a three-month period ending 22nd May. Super-market chain Sainsbury’s switch from bulk-buy promotions to price cuts seems not to have paid off, as the company still suffered sales declines. The dip in sales resulted in a market share drop to 16.2%. Nevertheless, the worst performer was ASDA as it slumped to its lowest market share in 14 years at 15.8% after sales fell by 5.1%. The reasoning behind this, may well be that shoppers are more inclined to trade up to higher quality products rather than taking advantage of the price cuts offered.

This article was issued by Roderick Duca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, views and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.