Australian Shares

by Chris Becker So what’s pushing the ASX200 up to new highs even as global markets fritter as the Trump trade war heats up?

By Chris Becker The poor start to the trading week here in Asia yesterday afternoon translated into more trips and falls on both sides of the Atlantic overnight as the fallout from Trump’s potential shutdown and the Facebook selloff overshadowed continued good earnings.

There’s big debate going on.

A poor start to the trading week here as the wishy-washy finish to the week on Friday spills over here in Asia.

By Chris Becker  Last week saw a possible pause in Trump’s trade war with a possible deal – not a deal-deal, but some kind of a deal, tremendous deal probably, maybe – between the US and Europe staving off wider concerns.

Its a relatively bullish close to the trading week here in Asia, with Chinese stocks the only fly in the ointment as risk confidence returns after last night Facebook blip.

By Chris Becker The plunge in Facebook shares overshadowed the ECB meeting and Trump’s continual backtracking on his trade war with the continent.

In response to the EU/US trade “deal” overnight, Asian stocks have returned a mixed session today, as the weaker USD drags down correlated stock markets, particularly in Japan.

By Chris Becker A possible end to the European front in the trade war sent US stocks higher overnight, helped along by higher oil prices as the DOE crude oil inventory report had a much larger than expected drawdown.

Vested interests are everywhere, chipping away at the moral fibre of politicians, tilting taxes in their favour and diverting resources.

Another mixed day here in Asia, unable to translate the positive overnight gains on Wall Street as the Yuan continued to stumble against USD.

Via the AFR: Magellan boss and Rich Lister Hamish Douglass is preparing for the possibility that the US 10-year Treasury yield breaks through 4 per cent in 12 to 18 months’ time, sparking a 30 per cent sell-off in global equities, should the US Federal Reserve find itself surprised by resurgent inflation.

Via the always corporate friendly Bartho today: The capital structure Wesfarmers unveiled for its soon-to-be demerged Coles business reflects a fine line between ensuring the supermarket group is true-to-label as an investment proposition while creating some discipline around how it will behave once it is free to act independently.

By Chris Becker There were no surprises on the manufacturing/services PMI prints overnight, although German manufacturing did better than expected which was possibly behind the resurgence in European stocks, but it was a lack of other catlaysts – and tweets from Trump – that staved off volatility.

A much better day here in Asia after the stuttering start on Monday, with almost all stock markets in the green, helped along by a resurgent USD as the Yuan plummets.

Could not agree more.

By Chris Becker The trading week had a better start in the northern hemisphere with US markets gaining on the back of tech and bank stocks, while Europe tread water.

This is why the MB Fund retains exposure to the US earnings boom: Internet giant Alphabet posted a significant earnings beat on Monday after the close, sending shares up more than 5%.

Via the AFR: ARCO fund manager George Colman says he is cautious on the Australian economy and is warning of a “slow-motion property market crash”.

A sputtering start to the trading week here in Asia with most stock markets having a bad day, except in China, while currency markets are reacting to Trumps ALL CAPS rant against Iran, sending the USD down.

By Chris Becker  Yet another extraordinary week in international relations as Trump parades across the globe upsetting friends, trashing major trade partners and embracing foes and dictators.