April 5th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Canada’s International Trade deficit in February was reported at -$1.91B, almost double expectations.
  • Retail Sales in the Eurozone were reportedly up 0.2% and 2.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively. Both were above expectations.
  • The US Markit Services PMI was reported at 51.3, above estimates.
  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in US General Merchandising companies, was up 0.6% and 3.1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

 

Commodities:

  • Oil held near the lowest in a month before U.S. government data forecast to show increasing crude stockpiles kept supplies at the highest level in more than eight decades.
  • Gold snapped two days of losses as Asian stocks fell and a slump in crude oil damped the outlook for inflation, signaling further potential delays in U.S. rate increases.

Canada:

  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has terminated the sales force for the female libido pill that it acquired last year for $1 billion, people familiar with the situation said, after the drug, Addyi, failed to gain traction in its first six months on the market.
  • Seven Generations Energy Ltd. and Tourmaline Oil Corp. are coming out on top in a battle for market share in Canada’s natural gas industry as prices wallow near an 18-year low and drilling is forecast to reach a virtual standstill this summer.

United States:

  • U.S. index futures fell, signaling stocks will extend losses after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped from its highest levels this year.
  • Three months after predicting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. would put the tumultuous end of 2015 behind it and stabilize profits, analysts are reversing course and cutting projections. Again.
  • As the U.S. took tougher steps Monday to limit the tax-cutting power of corporate inversions, analysts said the new rules may put a planned $160 billion merger between Pfizer Inc. and Allergan Plc in jeopardy.

 

International:

  • Carmakers and commodity shares led declines in European stocks after a report signaled weakness in the German economy.
  • UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc — two of the banks hardest hit amid a U.S. crackdown on customers’ illicit funds in recent years — are now starring in a torrent of leaked documents detailing how they once helped clients set up thousands of offshore shell companies.
  • Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said it’s the “best time” for the Swiss bank to expand in Asia as retrenching competitors make it easier to attract talent.
  • PSA Peugeot Citroen predicted that spending on new models and technology would weigh on profit in the coming years, sending its stock tumbling the most since January.
  • Siemens AG, Europe’s biggest engineering company, is among parties that have expressed preliminary interest in Emerson Electric Co.’s network power division, according to people familiar with the matter.
  • Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for a one-month low, as energy producers fell with crude oil and the yen’s strongest level in more than 17 months dragged Japanese exporters lower.

*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.