February 11th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Initial jobless claims in the US were reported at 269K, below estimates.
  • Continuing Jobless claims in the U S were 2.239M, also bleow estimates.
  • The unemployment rate in Greece was reported at 24.6%.

 

Commodities:

  • Oil extended losses to trade near a 12-year low as crude stockpiles at the delivery point for New York futures expanded to a record even as nationwide supplies slipped.
  • Gold rallied above $1,200 an ounce after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the U.S. central bank may delay further interest-rate rises should the turmoil in global markets continue, burnishing the investment case for the metal that’s been the best performing commodity in 2016.

Canada:

  • Franco-Nevada Corp. agreed to buy a precious metals stream on output from Glencore Plc’s Antapaccay mine in Peru for $500 million, funding the deal with a share sale model it says may be the wave of the future.
  • Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest diversified miner, reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as costs declined and a weakening local currency helped support profitability.
  • Manulife Financial Corp., Canada’s largest life insurer, reported fourth-quarter profit that slid 62 percent and said it may not meet its 2016 profit goal due to losses on oil and gas investments.

United States:

  • Treasury 10-year yields dropped to the lowest level since 2012 as falling equities drove investors to the relative safety of government debt and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said weakening stock prices pose a risk to the economy.
  • Rio Tinto Group plans to cut its dividend by as much as half to strengthen its finances after a rout in commodity prices reduced annual profit at the world’s second-biggest mining company by 51 percent.

International:

  • The relief rally that swept through Europe’s stock markets Wednesday came to an abrupt halt, as shares slid for the eighth time in nine days and headed for their lowest levels since September 2013
  • HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver canceled a global pay freeze after less than two weeks following an employee backlash, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
  • Mylan NV said it will buy Meda AB in a cash and stock deal worth about $7.2 billion, adding the Swedish company’s specialty drug products and European operations.
  • Asian stocks fell as markets in Hong Kong and Seoul joined a global selloff in their first day of trading this week, with the Hang Seng Index capping its worst start to a lunar new year since 1994.
  • The yen climbed against every major currency as a drop in global stocks and rising tensions between North and South Korea boosted demand for havens.
  • Japan’s two-decade reign as the biggest exporter to China ended in 2013, with South Korea taking the crown each year since. Japan’s slide accelerated last year, with shipments to the mainland falling 12 percent to $143 billion. While most nations saw Chinese demand slow last year, Japan’s 27 percent shrinkage since 2011 was severe enough to drop it in third place behind the U.S. for the first time in 33 years.

 

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