Every major global index started the week down, with the exception of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite. Hong Kong was buoyed by a 6% rise in Hong Kong-based insurer AIA group and a 7% jump in electronic components firm AAC technologies. AIA is well positioned to benefit from China’s announcement Friday that it will open up its financial services industry to foreign firms.
US and European government bonds gained along with the dollar, while the British pound took a beating after 40 members of Prime Minister Theresa May’s party signed a letter of no confidence in their leader. The move fell short of the requisite number to require her to step down, but adds pressure to an already beleaguered May, tasked with the Herculean challenge of getting Brexit negotiations back on track.
Markets will be watching a host of economic data set to be released this week, including US inflation and growth numbers, which will inform the Fed’s decision in mid-December on one more rate hike for the year. Also scheduled for this week: GDP data for Japan, Germany, Italy and the euro area, China retail sales and industrial output numbers and Australian jobs and wage data.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen, ECB President Mario Draghi and BOJ chief Haruhiko Karuda will be appearing at an ECB conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday. A full list of major central bank events for the rest of the year can be found here, courtesy of Reuters.