The new investment week is kicking off to Canada’s new prime minister Mark Carney calling a snap election in a bid to rally support against the burgeoning trade threat south of the border in the US.
The world's ninth biggest economy will go to the polls on April 28 as the governing Liberals have regained ground in public polls since Carney replaced Justin Trudeau less than a fortnight ago amid the threat posed by a tariff war with the US. The kiwi dollar has gained 2.5% so far this year against its Canadian counterpart, trading at 82.46 Canadian cents at 7am in Auckland.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of having “flexibility” in his tariff regime, with reciprocal levies set to be rolled out on April 2. Trump also said there was room to talk with China, which is said to be considering limiting exports to the US to blunt the tariff regime.
“Markets look to be in a holding pattern ahead of 2 April, which President Trump calls ‘Liberation Day’, the day when his reciprocal tariffs begin to take effect,” Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note.
Stocks on Wall Street edged up on Friday, with investors becoming less enamoured with US markets, while European stocks were weaker with travel and leisure companies on the backfoot after a fire closed Heathrow Airport in London for most of the day.
Homeward bound
Australian futures are pointing to a 0.5% decline for the S&P/ASX 200 index today, while Synlait Milk’s first-half report is the main feature for the NZX. The kiwi dollar fell to 57.29 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 57.51 cents on Friday.
Local trading was heavy on Friday as index-tracking investors adjusted their portfolios to match tweaks to major indices.
Australia’s federal government budget is due on Tuesday ahead of the nation’s election expected in May. The kiwi traded at 91.38 Australian cents from 91.40 cents on Friday.
Nine Entertainment’s stake in Australian listings business Domain Group remains in focus, with the chief executive of US property giant CoStar travelling to Sydney to discuss a deal.
A spin-out and sale of NZME’s OneRoof had been mooted by commentators as the media group seeks to extract value from its listings business, although that process has taken a backseat as the firm’s board fights to retain their seats in the face of an ouster by activist shareholder Jim Grenon.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Ali Tawfiq on Unsplash.
