Trinity Investments Limited – US Markets Preview - More Trump Tariffs

HONG KONG - Sept. 10, 2018 - PRLog -- A holiday-shortened week was a busy one for investors.

With tech leaders on Capitol Hill earlier this week, an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times rocking the Trump administration, and Trump on Friday saying that tariffs on an additional $267 billion of Chinese goods could be coming, the headlines were as they've been for most of the year — a lot.

Meanwhile, the week in economics news was capped with the August jobs report that showed hiring remains strong in the economy while wage gains are starting to perk up. There were 201,000 new jobs added to the economy in August with average hourly earnings rising 2.9% over last year, a 9-year high, and the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.9%.

President Donald Trump speaks at a fundraiser in Fargo, N.D., Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. Trump is making his second visit to North Dakota's biggest city within 10 weeks to campaign for Senate candidate Kevin Cramer, this time to help Cramer build up his finances. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Overall, this was a tough week for stocks as the S&P 500 finished lower each of the four trading days and giving credence to the historical data which shows September tends to be the worst month of the year for investors. And while years like 2018 in which stocks are higher heading into September tend to see stocks continue rising, the bear market in emerging markets and the beating tech stocks took this week point to an environment right now where investor sentiment is simply not good.

In the week ahead, the main economic highlight will be the monthly retail sales report, expected to show sales rose 0.5% in August. Investors will also keep their eye on key inflation data as well as sentiment checks on both the U.S. consumer and the small business sector.

And on the earnings side, things will remain quiet with Kroger and Adobe the only members of the S&P 500 set to report results.

The coming week, then, seems likely to be more of the same — lots of political noise, a smattering of economic data confirming the U.S. economy remains in good shape, and the market action mostly taking place overseas.

Economic calendar

• Monday: Consumer credit, July (+$14 billion expected; +$10.2 billion previously)
• Tuesday: NFIB small business optimism, August (108.1 expected; 107.9 previously); Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, July (6.66 million jobs open previously)
• Wednesday: Producer prices, August (+0.2% expected; +0% previously); Federal Reserve Beige Book
• Thursday: Initial jobless claims (210,000 expected; 203,000 previously); Consumer price index, month-on-month, August (+0.3% expected; +0.2% previously); "Core" CPI, year-on-year, August (+2.4% expected; +2.4% previously)
• Friday: Retail sales, August (+0.5% expected; +0.5% previously); Import price index, August (-0.3% expected; 0% previously); Industrial production, August (+0.3% expected; +0.1% previously); Capacity utilization, August (78.2% expected; 78.1% previously); University of Michigan consumer sentiment, September (96.8 expected; 96.2 previously

Concerns over more tariffs could have a cautious effect on the markets this week, however Trinity Investments still sees opportunities in the US markets.

To find out more, visit www.trinity-investments.com  or email us at info@trinity-investments.com and we will happily get back to you.