At the beginning of the weekend, despite all that China’s doing to help, Trump says “major major conflict with North Korea possible. Prefer diplomacy but very difficult.” Elsewhere, as Britain’s exit seems to be uniting the EU, Q1 Growth Data showed that Britain’s economy is slowing more than expected Month-on-Month but shows positive numbers for Year-on-Year growth – 2.1% increase.
Focusing on the “First 100 Days” syndrome, Obama’s first term, which is alleged to be the most favorable for the markets, saw a 2.8% rise in first 100 days, and 70% rise throughout the 4 year term. Trump is 6 Presidents below Obama’s market performance but since the direction of the market depends more on Corporate Earnings and Economic Growth, than Politics, Investors think it is better to ignore Trump’s First 100 Days.
With all the Holidays, today, including Early May Bank Holiday in the UK and Labour Days in most countries including France, Germany, China and Switzerland, potential catalysts to watch out for today include: US ISM Manufacturing PMI (Apr) (10:00 AM ET), Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes (7:50 PM ET), China Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Apr) (9:45 PM ET).
