Week ahead: ECB, US jobs, Trump’s UK visit

Investors will continue to keep an eye on trade developments and their impact on markets, but Donald Trump’s visit to the UK, monetary policy from a number of central banks and Theresa May’s resignation are other notable events on the calendar.

Here’s what to watch:

Trump’s UK visit

President Trump will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II on a state visit. He is also expected to meet outgoing prime minister Theresa May. The visit may also provide an opportunity for Mr Trump to threaten to limit intelligence-sharing with Britain if the UK government lets Chinese telecoms group Huawei build part of the 5G network.

Widespread protests are expected in the UK. The Stop Trump Coalition — formed ahead of Mr Trump’s last UK visit — is planning a “noise protest” involving pots and pans outside Buckingham Place during the banquet.

US employment

The labour market remains one of the bright spots for the US, which was seen a mixed batch of data in recent weeks. Economists expect the world’s biggest economy to have added 183,000 jobs in May and for the unemployment to remain steady at a historically low level of 3.6 per cent.

Other US economic data this week include: factory orders on Monday; private sector payrolls, services sector activity and the Federal Reserve’s so-called “Beige Book” on Tuesday and; trade balance on Thursday.

European Central Bank

The ECB is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged when it delivers its latest monetary policy decision on Thursday.

“Despite being prepared to throw all tools on the table for this meeting, we expect few fireworks, though [Targeted longer-term refinancing operations] III terms are likely to be easier than markets expect,” strategists at TD Securities said. “Otherwise, risks are tilted toward a further easing on the forward guidance side, but growth is likely to be revised up a tick, even if inflation sees a small downward revision on the back of weaker core.”

Other central Banks

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to deliver a 25 basis point interest rate on Tuesday, which would be its first cut in three years. Meanwhile, India’s central bank is also expected to lower its repurchase rate to 5.75 per cent from 6 per cent.

Theresa May

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will step down as leader of the Conservative party on Friday after failing to secure parliamentary approval for her Brexit deal. Boris Johnson and other Tory leadership rivals have begun jostling to succeed Mrs May with the UK expected to have a new prime minister by the end of July, although Mr Johnson is regarded as the favourite.

Earnings

Two of the market’s newest companies report earnings on Thursday. Beyond Meat and Zoom Communications have rallied 316 per cent and 128 per cent, respectively, since their initial public offerings in May and April.

Other companies reporting include: jeweller Tiffany and Salesforce on Tuesday; Campbell Soup and Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman on Wednesday and; preserves and peanut butter maker JM Smucker and supermarket Kirkland’s on Thursday.

Apple developer conference

Apple will kick-off its week-long Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on Monday against the backdrop of the US-China trade war that could hurt the company’s production capabilities, as well as the end of its costly, long-running legal dispute with Qualcomm.

Investors and developers will tune in for updates that will affect Apple devices and the apps that run on them, as well as potential updates to its streaming TV service.