ON DECK FOR MONDAY, JULY 22

ON DECK FOR MONDAY, JULY 22

KEY POINTS:

  • Stocks rally as US Presidential contest reset
  • Polls are mixed on Harris who enjoys an early lead into the August DNC
  • Chinese equities drop despite PBOC rate cuts that have done nothing to date
  • Nothing on tap in the US, Canada
  • Global Week Ahead reminder

Relatively light market developments are driving equities higher with bonds little changed so far. The US curve is very slightly bull flattening in 2s10s while MXN is among the currency leaders, but in general, there is little market reaction to Biden’s decision to drop out of the US presidential race which resets the contest against 78 year-old Trump.

There is also little reaction to China’s surprising and small rate cuts. The PBOC cut the 7-day and 1-month Standing Lending Facility rates by 10bps each after deciding to leave its 1-year Medium-Term Lending Facility Rate unchanged last week. That set up reductions in the 1- and 5-year Loan Prime Rates charged by Chinese banks to 3.35% and 3.85% respectively. The 5-year rate is the key benchmark for property financing markets. Chinese stocks moved lower as its rates curve bull steepened by a few basis points. The currency took the moves largely in stride. Rate cuts have totalled 75bps for the 5-year LPR and 35bps for the 1-year LPR over the past year (chart 1) and a half and have not done anything to reenergize growth in China’s economy given myriad other challenges.

Chart 1: People's Bank of China Loan Prime Rates

Now the process focuses upon picking a Democratic nominee either at the Democratic National Convention on August 19th to 22nd, or through a virtual roll call before then. Polling for alternative candidates versus Trump still put Trump in the lead including against Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris, but they don’t all agree and that doesn’t necessarily mean anything anyway. First, polls can be wildly inaccurate. Second, Trump won in 2016 without winning the popular vote. 

Chart 2: US Presidential First Polls After Biden Bows Out

As a reminder, the Global Week Ahead—The Coal Miner’s Central Bank was first sent Friday and is available here.

Key topics:

  • BoC expected to cut again despite rising inflation risk
  • Why the BoC won’t change QT
  • Canada’s front-end is cheap to the US
  • US Q2 GDP to inform the slowing debate
  • US PCE inflation may be very soft…
  • …and this time it might stick
  • PMIs: EZ, UK, US, Japan, Australia
  • Russian central bank expected to hike
  • Turkey’s central bank likely to extend pause
  • US earnings season intensifies
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