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6 things Australian traders will be talking about this morning

Good morning.

To the scoreboard:

  • Dow: 24,388.95 -558.72 (-2.24%)

  • S&P 500: 2,633.08 -62.87 (-2.33%)

  • AUD/USD: 0.7180 -0.0026 (-0.36%)

  • ASX200 SPI futures (December contracts): 5,637 (-30)


1. Asian markets could be in more more volatility today after US stocks got sold off into the close on Friday night to cap their worst week since March. Lingering US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment after a more positive session for the US and Europe.

2. All important US jobs data missed estimates on Friday, with 155,000 jobs added in November (190,000 exp). However, the US unemployment rate remains at a 49-year low and annual wage growth held above the 3% mark.

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3. But trade fears kept markets on edge, "with the focus mostly still on the Huawei issue", Westpac said. Over the weekend, China summoned the US ambassador to Beijing and threatened "further action" if Meng Wanzhou is not released.

4. The AUD got a boost from the weak US jobs print as the US dollar fell. However, "the Aussie succumbed to the deepening gloom in US equities, closing the week around 0.7200 and dipping below 0.7180 this morning", Westpac's Sean Callow said. There was steady demand for save haven assets as gold, US treasuries and the Japanese all strengthened.

5. Oil prices briefly surged after OPEC and Russia agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day on Friday, before brent crude lost ground to finish just above $US60 a barrel. Bitcoin had a small rally over the weekend and is back above $US3,500 this morning.

6. The week ahead: After a data deluge to kick off December, it's a quieter schedule in Australia this week. But ANZ says key data in the US will be closely watched, led by November inflation numbers on Wednesday night. This week's full diary is here.

And the main events on today's economic calendar:

  • Speech by the RBA's Chris Kent (8:35am AEDT) -- "US Monetary Policy and Australian Financial Conditions".

  • October housing finance / investment lending data from the ABS (11:30am AEDT).

  • October data for UK GDP, industrial production and trade balance.

  • US JOLTS new job openings.

Have a great week.