US investors return from the Juneteenth holiday to find world markets in a holding pattern with equities continuing to digest recent gains. US index futures are down 0.2%-0.3%, while the Dax is down 0.3% and the FTSE is up marginally. Commodity and Currency action finds WTI Crude Oil down 0.7%, Copper flat, Gold down 0.3% and Bitcoin up 1.0%.
Today, US housing starts (1.63M vs street 1.40M) have come in significantly stronger than expected; another sign of a robust economy.
It’s a short but active week for economic news. North American data is mainly focused on housing sector numbers, plus Canada retail sales tomorrow. Thursday brings Bank of England and Swiss National Bank interest rate decisions in the morning, followed by US bank stress test results in the evening. Friday morning is headlined by Flash Manufacturing and Flash Service reports from around the world, an early sneak peek at global economic conditions in June.
SIA Wealth In The Media:
Chief Market Strategist Colin Cieszynski appeared on BNN Bloomberg today where he spoke increasing bullish equity market breadth, and the influence of higher inflation on the price of gold.
We may see increased breadth in sectors with previously weaker players catching up: Strategist
Gold may be reasserting its role as an inflation hedge: Strategist