August 28th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Personal spending in the U.S. was up 0.3%, slightly below estimates.
  • Personal Income in the U.S. was up 0.4% in month-over-month terms, in line with estimates.
  • The Personal Consumption expenditures in the U.S. were up 0.1% and 0.3% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Consumer Sentiment Index in the U.S. was stated at 91.9, below estimates of 93.

Commodities:

  • Oil fell, paring its biggest weekly advance since April in New York, as signs of a strengthening U.S. economy vied with concerns that Chinese demand will slow.
  • Gold climbed to pare the biggest weekly decline in a month as investors weighed whether surging U.S. economic growth may be difficult to sustain in the short run and prospects dimmed for an interest rate rise next month.

Canada:

  • Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest lender by assets, posted profit that beat analysts’ estimates on a rebound in international banking. The lender raised its dividend 2.9 percent to 70 cents a share.
  • Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc. on Friday made its first significant investment in Indian infrastructure, buying six road and three power projects from India’s Gammon Infrastructure Projects Limited. (Globe)

United States:

  • Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index signalled the benchmark will decline after its biggest two-day surge since 2009, capping a tumultuous week for American stocks.
  • Wells Fargo & Co. has emerged as the front-runner to buy General Electric Co.’s railcar-financing unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

International:

  • European stocks retreated with U.S. equity-index futures and oil erased earlier gains as investors reassessed the outlook for markets in a week of volatile trading. Treasuries, German bunds and gold rose amid a pickup in haven demand.
  • Lukoil PSJC’s second-quarter profit fell 58 percent following a slump in crude prices.
  • Mitsubishi Corp., betting on growing demand for food in Asia, agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in Olam International Ltd., the commodity trader controlled by Singapore’s state investment company, in two deals worth S$1.53 billion ($1.09 billion).
  • U.K. exports picked up in the second quarter, helping trade contribute to the economic expansion by the most in four years.
  • HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank, said some U.K. customers haven’t received payments into their accounts on the final business day of the month, when many salaries in the country are paid.
  • Asian stocks rose for a third day as a global rally gathered pace and the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter. Chinese shares capped a 10 percent two-day surge.
  • Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner, plans to spend 160 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) to build a plant for producing synthetic ethanol as it seeks to secure supplies of the biofuel to meet mandatory blending norms.

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