(17 DECEMBER 2017)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 2:The weeks ahead: No change expected from BoJ

After the deluge in central bank reporting of recent days, the coming week looks far less busy.

The Swedish central bank may decide on a final extension of its asset purchase program on Wednesday, but this should have only a limited impact on the currency. More importantly, the expectations of rate hikes in 2018 fuels CIO's positive view on the Swedish krona, which CIO is overweight against its Norwegian counterpart.

Meanwhile, CIO expects no major surprises from the Bank of Japan meeting on Thursday, given its "inflation-overshoot" commitment. Other data releases include final 3Q17 GDP readings for the US and the UK, as well as sentiment indicators in the Eurozone, Switzerland, and the US.

In emerging markets, the ANC National Conference in South Africa will be in focus, where the party is expected to appoint a new leader. Whoever the winner, he/she will have to deal with weak state finances and looming rating downgrades. Otherwise, apart from some smaller economy central bank meetings, the calendar is relatively light in emerging markets.

Please note that this week ahead contains data releases up until 5 January, including the release of most global manufacturing PMIs and US labor market data in the first week of the new year. CIO will resume regular weekly coverage after the turn of the year.

By UBS