It will be the responsibility of a couple of Fed officials to explain The Fed chair’s comments about the direction of interest rates. J Powell told a group of businesspeople in Dallas that the Fed is in no rush to cut interest rates. Hold the front page!
He said the economy is not sending any signals that the Fed needs to be in a hurry to lower rates. Fed officials Austan Goolsbee from the Chicago Fed and Beth Hammack from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland will attempt to take up the mantle on Monday and Friday, respectively.
Indonesia will announce its latest interest-rate decision. Ideally, Bank Indonesia would like to cut interest rates. But a rising dollar could heap more pressure onto the rupiah. A rate cut now hangs in the balance.
Thailand will report third-quarter GDP numbers. In the second quarter, the Thai economy expanded by 2.3%. It is expected to grow at a slightly faster pace of 2.7% in the July to September quarter.
There are inflation numbers from Japan and Singapore. Japanese consumer prices are expected to moderate again in October, which could be awkward for the Bank of Japan. In August it was 3%. In September it fell to 2.5%. A reading of 2.2% has been chalked up for October. Meanwhile, Singapore’s inflation rate could have risen from 2.0% the previous month risen to 2.1% in October .
Corporate Events
It will be almost all about Asian companies except for one 800-pound gorilla – NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), which is the most valuable company in the world. The US$3.6 trillion chip designer is expected to report solid third-quarter earnings. It has already said that it has sold out of its new Blackwell products for the next 12 months. So, the constraint is not about demand for its A.I. semiconductors, but whether its suppliers can produce the chips fast enough.
A trio of EV makers will be reporting numbers. In August, Xiaomi (SEHK: 1810) said was confident of delivering 120,000 cars by the end of the year. So, robust EV third-quarter numbers could be on the cards. The smartphone side of the business will be interesting, though. Growth might not be as strong as in the previous quarter.
Xpeng (NYSE: EPEV) said in August that it expects to deliver up to 12.5% more vehicles in the third quarter compared to a year ago. In the second quarter, the company registered an operating loss and reported weak margins. More of the same could be in store.
Completing the EV lineup, NIO (SGX: NIO) is expected to report a 12% growth in the number of vehicle delivered to between 61,000 and 63,000. In common with its EV peers, NIO is still loss-making. But it is hoping to widen its margin from 9.2% to 15% by the end of 2024 by optimising costs.
Trip.com (Nasdaq: TRIP) could provide some useful insights into the travel habits of Chinese tourists. In August, the online travel agent said there has been evidence of strong demand for travel, especially cross-border travel. Revenue from packaged-tour grew an impressive 42% year on year.
Other companies on tap include clothing retailers Guess? (NYSE: GES) and Gap (NYSE: GAP). In Malaysia, power generator Tenaga Nasional (KLSE: 5347) and milk producer Dutch Lady (KLSE: 3026) are pencilled in for results. In Singapore, Thai Beverage (SGX: Y92), whilst in Hong Kong Vitasoy International (SEHK: 0345), will be handing in their report cards.
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Tenaga Nasional, Dutch Lady, Thai Beverage and Vitasoy International are constituents of the DKIP portfolios.
