February 9th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in US General Merchandising companies, was reportedly down 2.6% and up 0.6% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The NFIB survey of Business Optimism in the US was reported at 93.9, slightly below estimates.
  • Industrial Production in Germany was down 1.2% in month-over-month terms.

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Commodities:

  • Oil rose for the first time in four days in New York as price volatility climbed to near the highest levels in seven years and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warned of wider swings to come.
  • After a week-long rally that sent gold above $1,200 an ounce for the first time since July, the momentum started to fizzle on Tuesday as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicted the gains won’t last.

 

Canada:

  • TMX Group Ltd. is outperforming its global peers this year as investors see a glimmer of a turnaround at the Canadian exchange operator after a tumultuous 2015.
  • Fortis Inc. of Canada agreed to buy ITC Holdings Corp., the transmission-line owner with the highest rate of return among U.S. electric utility owners, in a cash and stock deal valued at $11.3 billion.

United States:

  • A rally in oil helped trim losses for U.S. stock futures, signalling a pause in a rout that has dragged the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the lowest in 22 months.
  • American International Group Inc. plans to exit at least half the hedge funds in which the insurer is invested, according to people familiar with the company’s portfolio.
  • Sanofi said profit won’t grow much this year, held back by sliding sales of its best-selling medicine, the insulin Lantus. The stock fell to its lowest level in two years.

International:

  • European stocks fluctuated, while a gauge of banks extended its lowest level since 2012, as the international equity rout sparked by investor concerns over global growth showed no signs of abating.
  • Deutsche Bank AG, under pressure over its ability to pay coupons on the riskiest debt, has just bought itself some time. Deutsche Bank rebounded after it said in a statement that it’s able to meet obligations on its additional Tier 1 notes both this year and next.
  • A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive was fined 792,900 pounds ($1.1 million) for failing to tell authorities about concerns he had with the bank’s activities in the ‘London Whale’ case.
  • Japanese stocks plunged amid a global equity selloff as the yen surged to the highest level against the dollar in more than a year, while financial companies plummeted on growing global unease over profitability and credit quality.
  • Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., the Japanese brewer of Super Dry, forecast 2016 profit that trails analyst estimates as a slowing economy weighs on domestic sales.

 

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