S&P 500 COMPANIES CUTTING ON SPENDING (0850 GMT) Slowing earnings growth and surging cost of borrowing will prompt companies to spend less cash this year, predicts Goldman Sachs. "Raising new cash is possible, but occurs at a time when the cost of capital has climbed sharply and could add to interest costs," GS analyst Ryan Hammond said in a note. After growing by 8% in 2022, cash spending by S&P 500 companies is seen falling by 1% in 2023, before rebounding by 7% in 2024.
Buybacks are seen taking a hit this year, after they fell 21% year-on-year in the first quarter. S&P 500 buybacks could fall by 15%, GS says, as uncertainty in Fed policy following the recent banking stress, and high starting valuations pose headwinds. Cash M&A will fall by 5%, while R&D, dividends and capex should see modest growth. According the investment bank, 47% of total cash spending will be allocated to capex and R&D, 25% to buybacks, 20% to dividends and 9% to cash M&A.
(Roshan Abraham)
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U.S. INFLATION DATA DENTS EUROPE MARKETS (0820 GMT) European shares slip ahead of U.S. inflation data that is likely to shape expectations for monetary policy in the world's largest economy, while corporate earnings across the region send retailers lower.
U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data, due at 1230 GMT, follows a payrolls report last week that dampened hopes of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve anytime soon. The pan-European STOXX 600 index is down 0.3% with the retail sector index falling the most, down 1%. UK online retailer ASOS shares drop 12% after the company swung to a first-half loss, hurt by a squeeze on household budgets and elevated product returns. The biggest loser on the STOXX 600 is Swedish Orphan Biovitrum with a 15.3% decline after the drug maker said it had agreed to make a $1.7-billion cash offer to buy U.S.-based CTI BioPharma CTIC.O. On a brighter note, shares of Credit Agricole are up 5.5% after France's second-biggest listed bank beat first-quarter earnings estimates on a boost from trading revenue.
(Joice Alves)
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EUROPEAN FUTURES EDGE UP AHEAD OF U.S. CPI, EARNINGS IN FOCUS (0645 GMT) European futures are edging up as investors cautiously await for U.S. inflation data, due later in the day and digest a fresh batch of first quarter earnings results.
April U.S. consumer price data is due at 1230 GMT and economists expect headline CPI to hold steady at an annual 5% and core CPI to moderate very slightly to 5.5%, though anything stickier could soften the conviction that interest rates will fall sharply this year. In Europe, corporate results are still in focus. Credit Agricole SA , France's second-biggest listed bank, posted better-than-expected earnings as market volatility boosted trading revenue. British pubs group J D Wetherspoon forecast record full-year sales and its annual profit to be closer to the top end of market expectations. Travel firm TUI expects strong revenue and higher profit for the full year of 2023 on the back of strong booking momentum.
(Joice Alves)
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MARKETS ON HOLD FOR US CPI (0634 GMT) Sterling and the euro seem to be losing steam as currency markets tuck themselves in for a nap. JP Morgan's G7 FX volatility index stands at a one-year low, with financial markets in holding patterns as they await developments in key areas of focus. Frontlines in Ukraine remain frozen. U.S. debt ceiling talks are deadlocked. Today's inflation data, due at 1230 GMT, could offer a jolt if the surprise factor is big enough. Economists polled by Reuters see core CPI steady at a monthly 0.4%. However, as Joe Capurso at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia notes, Cleveland Fed's 'nowcast' forecasts core CPI going up and if that happens, it could challenge the market's assumption that U.S. interest rate hikes are finished. Indeed, CME's FedWatch tool shows futures imply better-than-even odds that the Fed cuts rates in September. Beyond the inflation data, U.S. default risks and banking wobbles loom as the next likely focus. Investors are so far avoiding T-Bills that mature around the "X-date" when the U.S. government runs out of cash, expected to be early in June. Most analysts and investors think that as in the past, an eleventh-hour resolution will be found. But nerves are starting to fray, especially since the assumption that the U.S. government pays its debt on time is the bedrock of much global market activity. "While this time might not be different, people are thinking that the politics and individuals are certainly much more ideologically driven and dogmatic ... party rifts are deeper," said ING economist Rob Carnell. "It's not inconceivable that this goes horribly wrong, whereas in previous occasions it sort of was inconceivable."
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday: U.S. CPI data
(Tom Westbrook)
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