AAPL & AMZN pop before iPhone 12 & Prime Day

GURU WISDOM

“I made my first investment at age eleven. I was wasting my life until then.” - Warren Buffet

MARKETS

The optimism that had carried the Chinese currency higher last week crossed over into Chinese equities on Monday. Hopes for a Biden victory in the US election and more pro-China policies are spurring new investment in the country.

The PBOC removed some policies implemented last year to curb bets against the yuan on Monday, thereby having the opposite effect of allowing the currency to fall. It was a timely gesture to suggest the central bank was uncomfortable with the speed of the incline in the Chinese currency last week.

That drop in the yuan allowed a day of modest dollar strength notably against the Aussie dollar (AUD/USD) which can act as a proxy for China. Gold, silver and Bitcoin gained ground, bucking the trend of dollar strength.

Most global indices gained ground on Monday but the UK’s FTSE 100 index was a notable exception. This was in reaction to new lockdown measures. Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a 3 tier lockdown system where regions will be assigned a rating and extra lockdown measures imposed according to the increase in virus cases.

The price of oil added to Friday’s losses – falling 3% as Norwegian production came back fully online following a week-and-a-half long strike. New supply was also added in Libya upon the reopening of its biggest oil field and in the United States after Hurricane Delta had forced some offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to shut.
 

New iPhone

Excitement about the new iPhone release tomorrow (expected to be called the iPhone 12 with some variations) caused Apple stock to spike 6% on Monday. Historically there has been a tendency for investors to “buy the rumour and sell the fact” of the new iPhone release which often struggles to meet lofty expectations from fans and investors.
 

Prime Day

The delayed Amazon Prime Day is upon us and with the coronavirus pandemic still rife in many parts of the world- making online shopping more prevalent, analysts expect Amazon to report another record sales day. A big Prime Day will help Amazon recoup some of the extra costs associated with operating its online store during the pandemic.