Knight Bridge Investment Consultants Limited – US Markets – Week Ahead and Economic Calendar

HONG KONG - July 8, 2018 - PRLog -- Knight Bridge's purpose is to provide access to alternative investment strategies for clients seeking to achieve a diverse and profitable portfolio. Today's asset allocation landscape is more than just equities and bonds. Our goal is to keep our clients fully informed as to the different alternatives available in today's climate, maximizing returns and allocating investment products for long-term results that support clients' retention for their investment cycle.

The labor market is still growing in the US and a possible Trade War still looms with China.

A holiday-shortened trading week for investors ended up bringing markets two of the biggest pieces of news this month, as the June jobs report showed the U.S. job-creating machine isn't slowing down while the Trump administration formally imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports.

"In our view, the healthy rate of hiring suggests that labor markets are, as of now, resilient to the protectionist trade policies put in place by the Trump administration," said Jens Halper, an economist at Knight Bridge Investment. "This may not be the case going forward, and we will remain watchful for signs that business confidence is waning and hiring and spending plans are being postponed."

In the weeks ahead, second quarter earnings season will begin to ramp up and economic data reflecting a broader picture of the economy in May and June will roll in. How trade did or did not effect the economy in the rearview will be tracked by the investors closely, but with Trump's trade war appearing to be picking up steam rather than winding down, the months ahead will be full of uncertainty.

Turning to the calendar for the week ahead, on the economics side the biggest report of the week will be Thursday's reading on consumer prices. This report should show that when stripping out the cost of food and energy, consumer prices were up 2.3% against last year in June, above the Fed's 2% inflation target.

Other notable economic reports due out include the NFIB's reading on small business optimism, the May report on job openings, and Friday's reading on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.

Corporate earnings will also make a return after a week off, with big U.S. banks getting in the mix as second quarter earnings season gets underway. On Friday, JP Morgan (JPM), Citi (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), and PNC Financial (PNC) will all report results before the market open. Other S&P 500 members set to report earnings this week include PepsiCo (PEP) and Delta Air Lines (DAL).

Economic calendar

• Monday: Consumer credit balances, May (+$12 billion expected; $9.26 billion previously)
• Tuesday: NFIB small business optimism, June (105.8 expected; 107.8 previously); Job openings and labor turnover survey, May (6.66 million job open expected; 6.7 million jobs open previously)
• Wednesday: Producer prices, June (+0.2% expected; +0.5% previously)
• Thursday: Initial jobless claims (226,000 expected; 231,000 previously); Consumer price index, June (+0.2% month-on-month change expected; +0.2% previously); "Core" consumer price index, June (+2.3% year-on-year change expected; +2.2% previously)
• Friday: Import price index, June (+0.1% expected; +0.6% previously); University of Michigan consumer sentiment, preliminary reading (98.0 expected; 98.2 previously)

With all the news and bluster being reported on a potential Trade War between the China and the US, Knight Bridge Investments still sees growing opportunities between the two countries

To find out more about where Knight Bridge Investment Consultants Limited sees value within China and its US ties, visit www.knightbridgeinvestment.com or contact us at info@knightbridgeinvestment.com for further information.