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What To Watch This Week for Six Country ETFs

by: Carl T. Delfeld August 18, 2008 | about stocks: DAX / EWG / EWJ / EWU / LDN / TYI    
Carl T. Delfeld

Carl T. Delfeld

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Global markets today are very news driven so it is important to know - and even better to anticipate - what is coming down the pike.

Chris Flood of the Financial Times highlights some of the economic data expected this week that will impact stock markets around the world as well as the ETFs that track them.

The consensus forecast for German (EWG)(DAX) producer prices in July, also due tomorrow, is for year-on-year growth to rise to 7.6%, a 26-year high. German investor confidence plunged to its weakest level for almost 17 years, according to the ZEW survey of economic sentiment, reflecting the downturn in the eurozone’s largest economy, which contracted by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter. The recent fall in oil prices could provide a modest boost to the ZEW expectations measure, which is expected to rise from -63.9 in July to -61.8, due on Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan (EWJ)(TYI) is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged at 0.5% at its monthly meeting on Tuesday so the focus will be on the extent of any downgrade in its assessment of the outlook for the economy.

In the UK (EWU)(LDN) the Bank of England’s minutes, published on Wednesday, will be of interest to see if the three-way split among policymakers on interest rates continued at the August meeting. The CBI’s Industrial Trends survey is expected to signal that activity levels and new orders continued to deteriorate in August in spite of the decline in sterling, which should offer a boost in manufacturing competitiveness.

A deterioration in the UK’s public finances has limited the government’s capacity to respond to the credit crisis. UK retail sales data have been extremely volatile in recent months but further pressure on consumer spending appears inevitable as a result of increases in petrol, utility and food bills. Friday's headline GDP growth is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% but there is a risk of a downward revision which would underline the growing likelihood that the UK economy will enter recession later this year.

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This article has 1 comment:

  •  
    Aug 18 04:24 PM
    And China? Isn't China prominent in the line up of states likely to move the markets? I am concerned that when the Olympics end and China gets finished with it currency manipulations of late, we will see another slow down, possibly of major proportions. This is gas on a pitch fire already blazing in the EU, Africa, Russia, and maybe So Am soon. I am concerned the US loses/narrows its export markets. This is the really bad news that could come from the international community.
    Reply
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