Next Week At A Glance

This story features ALS LIMITED, and other companies. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: ALQ

For a more comprehensive preview of next week's events, please refer to "The Monday Report", published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

By Greg Peel

Volatility has returned to global financial markets. And by that I mean true volatility, not just big moves in one direction. Suddenly Wall Street is trading through wide intra-day ranges. Bridge Street is having big up-days and even bigger down-days. Having fallen out of bed in April, gold is all over the shop. Japan has redefined stairs and elevators.

A month ago we were all sailing along nicely, with US jobs data looking promising, Australia still the global source of yield, China still expected to pick up the pace, Japan flying to the moon, and…there was something else…oh yes, Europe. Whatever happened to Europe?

Then suddenly the Fed started talking about winding back QE and all hell has broken loose. We haven’t seen a major global correction, as many have warned, just heightened uncertainty, confusion and nervousness. The old broken record of a Chinese hard landing is skipping on the turntable once more. Another Japanese bubble (very popular over there) is feared. The peak in Australia’s mining boom has become real. Where is all of this leading?

No one knows of course, hence the volatility.

Tonight Wall Street can have another go at being undecided, with durable goods orders the data highlight of the session. Then everyone can have a Bex and a nice lie down for the Memorial Day long weekend, which signals the beginning of the US summer. Next week is the last week of May, which means only one more week to you know what.

It will be a week choc-a-block with global data. In the US, the Case-Shiller index, pending home sales, consumer confidence, the Richmond Fed index, Chicago PMI and personal income and spending are all due, along with the first revision of the March quarter GDP.

GDP is the buzzword for Australia, as we count down to the following week’s March quarter result. Next week we see the first constituents of March quarter construction work done and the all-important capital expenditure (here the mining peak is in focus). Monthly building approvals and private sector credit data are also due.

China will release industrial profits on Monday and Beijing’s official May manufacturing PMI next Saturday. Japan will “dump” retail sales, industrial production, unemployment and inflation data across the week. India will report its March quarter GDP.

On the local stock front, ALS ((ALQ)) and Programmed Maintenance ((PRG)) will report full-year results, Aristocrat Leisure ((ALL)) will report its interim, David Jones ((DJS)) will report third quarter sales and National Bank ((NAB)) will go ex-div.

Roll the dice.

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