insto - Australian financial markets

Current role: Head of energy and utilities research, Deutsche Bank Australia & New Zealand

Hirjee joined Deutsche Bank in June 1998 from Credit Suisse First Boston where he was the senior energy analyst for three years. He is currently DB’s senior Australian energy and utilities analyst. In the 2003 Greenwich Associates survey, Hirjee was rated as one of the top two Australian energy analysts.

Best call?
Early identification of Woodside Petroleum as the best leverage to the globalisation of Australian gas via LNG several years ago, when the trend was not mainstream.

Worst call?

Earlier this week, Insto got in touch with one of Europe’s leading analysts, Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities.

Markets sold off overnight as nervous investors braced for a pullback.

Financial stocks led US stock indices lower overnight. The S&P500 shed 1.3 per cent to 994 while the Dow shed 1 per cent with Bank of America, JPMorgan and GE among the biggest decliners.

US stocks were mixed as the consumer failed to share the markets renewed optimism.

The S&P500 fell 0.26 per cent, the Dow Industrial traded down 0.13 per cent, while the NASADQ went the other way, gaining 0.39 per cent in Tuesday's session.

The Conference Board’s US consumer confidence index fell to 46.6 in June from 49.3, the second successive fall after three months of gains. Economists attribute the fall to a premature jump earlier in the year.

Market optimism fueled by positive US corporate earnings continued on Thursday as stock index hit year-highs.

The S&P500 index closed up 2.3 per cent at 976, its highest level since November 2008 while the Dow Industrial index closed above the 9000 mark for the first time since January after more US companies including McDonalds and AT&T beat analysts’ forecasts.

The S&P500 shed almost 1 per cent on the day, as Q209 drew to a close. The stock index has posted its strongest quarterly gain (15 per cent) in 11 years as markets seek to recover.

US Banks were lower following a government report that delinquencies on prime mortgages had increased to 2.9 per cent in Q109 from 1.1 per cent in Q108 while the broader market was weaker on news that US consumer confidence had unexpectedly declined.

Queensland Treasury Corporation (AA+/Aa1) has today (18 June) priced a new A$3.25bn benchmark 14 June 2019 senior unsecured transaction.

The notes are issued off QTC's domestic AUD bond programme and carry a semi-annual coupon of 6.25 per cent accruing RBA bond basis. The notes are priced to yield 6.43 per cent semi-annually, at a spread of ACGB 5.25 per cent Mar 2019 + 84 bps.

Capital price: 98.687, priced with 9 days of accrued interest, with a full first coupon on 14 December 2009.

Settlement date is 23 June 2009.

US equity markets sold off overnight as bond yields continued to rise. The S&P500 index shed 1.9 per cent as US Treasury bond yields spiked on supply concerns.

Ten year US Treasury yields were up 17.4bps to 3.73, the highest level since November. Foreign central banks are buying at the shorter end of the curve, forcing longer yields up. 

Credit pushed wider as the market saw rising bond yields as a sign of fear. The US CDX investment grade index ended 1.5bps wider at 145, after trading tighter earlier in the day.

NSW TCorp is to issue around A$100m to A$150m of the 2.5 per cent of 20 November 2035 Capital Index Bonds (CIBs)

On 15 April, Rio Tinto priced a US$3.5 billion five and ten year bond offer.