Asia share markets on edge for inflation, earnings reports

SYDNEY — Asian share markets dawdled on Monday as investors braced for US and Chinese inflation data, along with a corporate reporting season where robust results are needed to justify high stock valuations.

Geopolitical tensions were also on the radar as disruptions in the Red Sea raised oil prices and shipping costs in Europe, while the Israeli conflict with Hamas threatened to spread to Lebanon.

There was more promising news from Washington where US congressional leaders agreed on a $1.6-trillion spending deal aimed at averting a partial government shutdown.

The early action was cautious with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan flat, after retreating 2.5% last week.

Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday, though futures were trading up at 33,500 compared to Friday’s cash close of 33,377. The index has been underpinned by a drop in the yen as the dollar enjoyed a broad bounce.

Chinese blue chips lost another 0.5%, having slid almost 3% last week.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures were flat and FTSE futures a shade firmer. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both up 0.1%.

The S&P 500 lost 1.5% last week to break a nine-week winning stretch, which had been its longest since 1989. The index’s 24% rally last year means valuations are looking a little stretched so much is riding on the results season.

Major banks including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup start the reporting rush on Friday with hopes high for upbeat profits.

Consensus forecasts are that S&P 500 profits rose 3% on the year, and Goldman Sachs sees risks of an even higher outcome.

“The bar ahead of 4Q results is higher than in recent quarters, but we expect S&P 500 firms in aggregate will beat analyst forecasts,” Goldman said in a note.

“Our baseline 2024 forecast is S&P 500 EPS rises by 5% year/ year, and we see potential upside from stronger US economic growth, lower interest rates, and a weaker US dollar.”

Futures are pricing in around 136 basis points (bps) of US rate cuts next year, compared to the Federal Reserve’s dot plot of 75 bps.

The probability of a move as early as March has been pared somewhat to a still-high 64%, and that will likely shift again depending on Thursday’s US consumer price report.

Forecasts are for core CPI to rise 0.2% in December, pulling annual inflation down to 3.8% and its lowest since mid-2021.

Analysts at TD Securities are tipping an increase of just 0.1% thanks to a large drag from used car prices and slowing rents. —