Interest rate decisions from central banks on both sides of the Tasman are in view this week, with the Reserve Bank of Australia poised to cut its target cash rate on Tuesday, while New Zealand’s monetary policy is expected sit on its hands on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline for trading partners to make their best pitches to avert steep tariffs is drawing closer.
Local markets are poised for a slow start to the week with Australian futures pointing to a flat open and the kiwi dollar largely unchanged against the greenback after the Independence Day holiday in the US on Friday and softer stock markets in Europe.
And SkyCity Entertainment Group is said to be facing an investor-led action backed by Litigation Capital Management, which has been looking into the casino operator’s anti-money laundering failures at the company’s Adelaide casino.
Falling out
The Independence Day holiday in the US on Friday left markets rudderless as they kick off the new week, with S&P 500 futures pointing to a 0.6% decline when Wall Street opens on Monday. Stocks in Europe were generally weaker with Germany’s DAX 30 down 0.6% on Friday and France’s CAC 40 declining 0.8%.
US President Donald Trump signed his big and beautiful spending and tax legislation into law on Friday, which coincided with an escalation in complaints from his former adviser Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, who pledged to set up a new political party in protest over the spending programme.
Investment firm Azoria Partners delayed launching a fund tied to Tesla, saying Musk’s proposed political party posed a conflict with his executive duties.
Meanwhile, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ programme that the US is close to finalising several trade deals ahead of the July 9 deadline for Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs to come into effect after their 90-day reprieve, and that letters will go 100 smaller countries which will face higher tariffs than those initially flagged.
New Zealand hasn’t sought to negotiate a lower import levy than the 10% reciprocal rate flagged by Trump in April.
Interesting rates
Meanwhile, local investors will be preparing for central bank meetings on both sides of the Tasman this week. The RBA is expected to cut its target cash rate a quarter-point to 3.6% on Tuesday as inflation cools and Australia's economy remains sluggish.
And on Wednesday, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is seen keeping the official cash rate at 3.25%.
The kiwi dollar traded at 60.61 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 60.73 cents on Friday and was at 92.52 Australian cents from 92.41 cents last week.
“On the policy front, the RBA and RBNZ have policy meetings, with the former widely expected to cut rates again by 25 basis points (nearly fully priced) and the latter widely expected to take a pause in the easing cycle (just 3 basis points of cuts priced),” Bank of New Zealand senior market strategist Jason Wong said in a note. “Neither of these policy updates should perturb the market, with all eyes on what Trump announces after the 9 July deadline expires.”
Market chatter
Australian futures are pointing to a flat open for S&P/ASX 200 index when trading begins across the Tasman this week.
No local data is scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review reported SkyCity is facing an investor suit over the anti-money laundering failures at its Adelaide casino, which led to the casino operator paying a A$67 million penalty last year to financial crime regulator Austrac. Former directors and executives have been named in the suit, backed by litigation funder LCM.
The AFR’s Street Talk column reported Pioneer Capital has hired Allier Capital to investigate options for its 87% stake of skin cancer diagnostic firm MoleMap.
And Fisher Funds announced a new hire for its expanding private equity team, tapping Forsyth Barr’s co-head of investment banking James Dykes to join the fund manager as a director of private equity. Dykes starts at Fisher in October.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Curious News.
