Category: Australia & NZ

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ASX 200 hesitates

The ASX 300 Banks index broke resistance at 8000 and is retracing to test the new support level. The index remains in a primary down-trend and only a higher low on the next correction, followed by a new high, would reverse that.

ASX 300 Banks Index

A weaker Australian Dollar has made the banks, with their high dividend yields, more attractive to offshore investors. But the sector remains squeezed by higher funding costs, falling credit growth and rising default risk.

With retracing banks and weaker prospects for miners, the ASX 200 hesitated. Expect another retracement to test 6150, but respect is likely and would confirm the primary advance. Target is the October 2007 high at 6750.

ASX 200

Technical signals suggest a primary advance while economic indicators warn of rising headwinds and a potential bear market. So I remain cautious, with close to 30% cash in the Australian Growth portfolio.

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Trade tariff impact on China & Australia

The yuan is falling as threat of a tariff war rises.

Yuan

The Shanghai Composite Index is testing its 2016 low at 2700. Breach would warn of a decline to the 2014 low at 2000.

Shanghai Composite Index

Commodity prices are plunging in anticipation of falling demand from China.

DJ-UBS Commodity Index

Chinese monthly iron ore imports are down at 83.24 mt, compared to earlier peaks of 100 mt earlier in 2017. Iron ore spot price is testing primary support $63/tonne. A Trend Index peak below zero warns of selling pressure. Breach of support is likely and would warn of a decline to $58/tonne.

Iron Ore

A falling Aussie Dollar may cushion local resources stocks from some of the impact.

Australian Dollar

But ASX 300 Metals & Mining index continues to test medium-term support at 3800. Breach of support is likely and would warn of a correction to test the rising trendline.

ASX 300 Metals & Mining

Resources stocks remain in a primary up-trend but I am bearish on the medium-term outlook.

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Gold tests support

China continues to support the Yuan and we can expect consolidation around 15 US cents. Threat of trade tariffs is weakening the Yuan, forcing the PBOC to sell off foreign reserves to prevent a downward spiral as investors flee and borrowers hedge against the stronger Dollar.

Dollar/Yuan

PBOC sale of foreign reserves, mainly held in US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, would drive up yields and weaken the Dollar. The Dollar Index continues to test resistance at 95. Respect is likely and would warn of another correction. While unlikely, breakout above 95 would signal that the PBOC is sitting on its hands while the Dollar advances to an initial target of 100.

Dollar Index

Gold is testing primary support at $1240/ounce. A stronger Dollar would breach support, warning of a decline to $1150. Respect of primary support is more likely and would signal another rally.

Spot Gold

The price of gold in Australian Dollars has been edging up over the past few years as the Aussie Dollar weakens. But the monthly chart below shows that Gold (USD) has fallen faster than the Aussie Dollar over the last 3 months. Large bearish divergence on the Trend Index indicates selling pressure. Breach of support at $1650 (AUD) and the rising trendline would warn of a reversal.

Gold in Aussie Dollars

The All Ordinaries Gold Index is a bit stronger, having broken through resistance at 5000. A correction that respects the rising trendline and new support level at 5000 would confirm the primary advance, with a target of 6000.

All Ordinaries Gold Index

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Banks lift ASX 200

The ASX 300 Banks index continues to test resistance at 8000. Respect remains likely and would indicate another test of primary support at 7300.

ASX 300 Banks Index

Rising banks lifted the ASX 200. Follow-through above 6250 signals another primary advance, with a target of the October 2007 high at 6750.

ASX 200

This leaves me in a difficult position. Technical signals suggest a primary advance, while economic indicators warn of rising headwinds and a potential bear market.

Banks

The banking sector is being squeezed by higher funding costs, falling credit growth and rising default risk.

Gerard Minack from Minack Advisers warns that the current credit contraction could cause a significant fall in housing prices:

Most houses are bought on credit, so the demand for housing is a function of the supply of credit. Consequently, housing loan approvals have historically led house prices. New loan approvals have fallen by around 20% year-over-year several times over the past 25 years. If the current credit contraction is more severe – say, a decline of up to 30% – then nationwide house prices could fall high single digits over the coming year.

….All this suggests that a high single-digit decline in house prices would put a material dent in domestic demand. If prices were to fall by, say, 15%, and if consumer income growth was as tepid as it now is, there would be a good chance of recession.

Resources

A falling Chinese Yuan highlights the threat of trade tariffs to the Chinese economy.

CNY/USD

Commodity prices have responded, falling to test primary support levels.

DJ-UBS Commodity Index

Including iron ore.

Iron Ore

The ASX 300 Metals & Mining index is testing medium-term support at 3800. Breach is likely and would warn of a correction to test the rising trendline.

ASX 300 Metals & Mining

My approach is to sit with one foot either side of the fence. Focus on growth sectors. Stay away from Banks. Stay away from Resources but stay in Gold. And keep a healthy percentage of the Australian portfolio in Cash and reasonably secure interest-bearing investments. Definitely not hybrids.

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Gold, Dollar and the Yuan

China’s Yuan fell sharply over the last 3 weeks, with the threat of US trade tariffs.

Dollar/Yuan

Risk of capital flight will force the PBOC to sell foreign reserves to support the Yuan. It took $1 trillion to stem the last fall, so expect a sizable sell-off in Chinese holdings of US Dollar assets, mainly Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The outflow is likely to weaken the Dollar, which is likely to strengthen Gold.

The Dollar Index encountered stubborn resistance at 95. Respect would warn of another correction.

Dollar Index

Gold found support at $1250/ounce. Respect of the primary support level would suggest another rally.

Spot Gold

The Aussie Dollar is likely to strengthen if the US Dollar falls.

AUDUSD

A stronger US Dollar is expected to be mildly bullish for Australian gold stocks, with a stronger Aussie Dollar offsetting some of the gains.

The All Ordinaries Gold Index broke through resistance at 5250, signaling a primary advance with a target of 6000. Follow-through above 5300, after the recent retracement, would strengthen the signal.

All Ordinaries Gold Index

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Australia: Good news and bad news

First, the good news from the RBA chart pack.

Exports continue to climb, especially in the Resources sector. Manufacturing is the only flat spot.

Australia: Exports

Business investment remains weak and is likely to impact on long-term growth in both profits and wages.

Australia: Business Investment

The decline is particularly steep in the Manufacturing sector and not just in Mining.

Australia: Business Investment by Sector

But government investment in infrastructure has cushioned the blow.

Australia: Public Sector Investment

Profits in the non-financial sector remain low, apart from mining which has benefited from strong export demand.

Australia: Non-Financial Sector Profits

Job vacancies are rising which should be good news for wage rates. But this also means higher inflation and, down the line, higher interest rates.

Australia: Job Vacancies

The housing and financial sector is our Achilles heel, with household debt climbing a wall of worry.

Australia: Housing Prices and Household Debt

House prices are shrinking despite record low interest rates.

Australia: Housing Prices

Broad money and credit growth are slowing, warning of a contraction.

Australia: Broad Money and Credit Growth

Bank profits remain strong.

Australia: Bank Profits

But capital ratios are low, with the bulk of profits distributed to shareholders as dividends. The ratios below are calculated on risk-weighted assets. Raw leverage ratios are a lot weaker.

Australia: Bank Capital Ratios

One of the primary accelerants of the housing bubble and household debt has been $900 billion of offshore borrowings by domestic banks. The chickens are coming home to roost, with bank funding costs rising as the Fed hikes interest rates. In the last four months the 90-day bank bill swap rate (BBSW) jumped 34.5 basis points.

The banks face a tough choice: pass on higher interest rates to mortgage borrowers or accept narrower margins and a profit squeeze. With an estimated 30 percent of households already suffering from mortgage stress, any interest rate hikes will impact on both housing prices and delinquency rates.

I continue to avoid exposure to banks, particularly hybrids where many investors do not understand the risks.

I also remain cautious on mining because of a potential slow-down in China, with declining growth in investment and in retail sales.

China: Activity

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ASX 200: China threat

A rapidly falling Chinese Yuan highlights the threat of trade tariffs to the Chinese economy.

CNY/USD

Expect another sell-off of foreign reserves by China, as in 2015 to 2016, in attempt to stabilize the Yuan and head-off a major capital exodus. The sell-off would weaken the Dollar and Chinese exports.

China Foreign Reserves

Significant monetary easing by the PBOC is also likely, to stimulate domestic demand. Driving the Debt-to-GDP ratio into the stratosphere.

The Aussie Dollar would act as a shock-absorber, following the path of the Yuan.

AUD/USD

Cushioning the blow to Australian exporters.

So far, Resources stocks are unfazed. The ASX 300 Metals & Mining index is consolidating below 4000.

ASX 200

The ASX 300 Banks index ran into stiff resistance at 8000. Expect another test of primary support at 7300 but this is not related to trade tariffs.

ASX 300 Banks Index

The ASX 200 appears unperturbed by the international turmoil, retracing calmly to test its new support level at 6150. Respect would signal another primary advance, with a target of the October 2007 high at 6750.

ASX 200

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ASX 200: Bold play for Aussie Banks

The ASX 300 Banks Index jumped sharply this week as investors made a bold move into the big four banks. Banks have been under the pump for months, with plenty of negative publicity from the Royal Commission accompanied by media coverage of falling house prices. The Aussie Dollar also rallied, suggesting the buyers were offshore.

Have they got it right? Only time will tell. Trying to catch a falling knife is a hazardous endeavor. What looks cheap at the time often ends up being very expensive with the benefit of hindsight.

Bulls would say that the banks are a dominant oligopoly, generating strong cash-flows and un-threatened by international competition. Bears would say they are under-capitalized, poorly managed and sitting atop the mother of all housing bubbles. Technical analysts would say that the Banks index remains in a primary down-trend and this is most likely nothing more than a secondary bear market rally.

ASX 300 Banks Index

But there are broader implications. The bank rally lifted the ASX 200 through resistance at 6150, signaling another primary advance. A Trend Index trough at the zero line flags buying pressure. Target for the advance is the October 2007 high at 6750.

ASX 200

This looks like a bold play by a long-term value investor, taking advantage of the weak Aussie Dollar and strong bearish sentiment towards banks. Where one leads, others are likely to follow.

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Gold weakens as Dollar dominates

The Dollar Index continues to test resistance at 95.

Mohammed El-Erian believes the Dollar is underpriced:

“…the dollar index is now at a 2018 high and, IMO, markets as a whole are yet to price fully the growth and policy differentials that favor the US over many other countries.”

Dollar Index

Expect another test of short-term support at 93.20 but respect is likely and breakout above 95 would signal another advance.

A strong Dollar would suggest weaker gold prices (in Dollars). Spot gold breached support at $1280/ounce, warning of a test of primary support between $1240 and $1250. Trend Index peaks below zero flag selling pressure.

Spot Gold

Australian gold stocks face a different set of drivers. The strong greenback weakened the Aussie Dollar, breach of primary support at 75 warning of a decline to 70 US cents. A long tail on the latest candle suggests a continuing arm-wrestle between buyers and sellers. But the Trend Index peak below zero indicates, in the medium-term, that sellers outweigh buyers.

AUDUSD

Buoyed by a weaker Aussie Dollar, the All Ordinaries Gold Index is rallying to test resistance at 5250. Breakout would signal another advance but retracement is likely to first test support at the rising trendline.

All Ordinaries Gold Index

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