Fundamental Analysis Category

A Risky Lopsided US Stock Market Performance The year-to-date performance of the S&P 500 has been heavily skewed by the top 8 market cap stocks (FAANG + MNT). US regional bank fear persists despite the takeover of First Republic Bank by JPMorgan Chase. Markets are looking out for clues on the timing of the first

RBA Board Hikes the Cash Rate by 0.25% Choosing to raise is the better policy option, even if it is not consistent with our interpretation of the implicit guidelines. The Reserve Bank Board raised the policy rate by another 0.25% at its May meeting, bringing the policy rate to 3.85%. The decision came as a

Slightly Easing Price Pressures   A busy week of data releases and central banks begins on a quiet note. Today we are eager to see if the US ISM manufacturing index for April reflects similar strength to previous PMIs. Early Tuesday morning, we expect the RBA to leave monetary policy unchanged in line with market

RBA Board to Pause Again at its May Meeting The Reserve Bank Board meets next week on May 2. Following the release of the March quarter inflation report Westpac now expects the Board to extend the pause it instigated at its April meeting to the May meeting. This decision comes despite the likelihood that the

Temporary First Republic-Related Stress to Fade Further Shares of First Republic remain on a slide, but the spillover to other markets was much less than Tuesday. The new sell-off in the stock came after CNBC reported that the U.S. government is currently unwilling to intervene on behalf of the bank. Advisors to the bank are