January 19th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Foreign portfolio investment in Canadian securities in November was reported at $4.29B.
  • Canadian portfolio investment in foreign securities was reported at $1.83B.
  • Construction OutputĀ  in the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.1% and 2.2% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil declined from a one-week high in London and New York as Iraqi production advanced to a record, compounding a global crude surplus.
  • Gold traded at the biggest premium to platinum since April 2013 as bullion was near a four-month high amid demand for a haven.
  • Copper in London climbed for a third day as China boosts infrastructure spending to spur economic growth in the worldā€™s largest consumer of the metal.

Canada:

  • Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will remain in interest-rate hibernation for another year as plunging oil prices raise concerns the nationā€™s economic growth is in jeopardy, economists say.
  • HudBay Minerals said it plans a 2015 capital-spending budget of about $425 million, down about 60% from 2014. It also said total copper production in 2014 was below guidance due to nominal copper concentrate output at its Constancia mine in Peru in late 2014.

United States

  • Wall Streetā€™s top lobbying group said President Barack Obamaā€™s plan to raise $110 billion over the next decade through a new tax on financial companies could stifle economic growth and make banks less likely to lend. The proposal released Saturday would impose a seven-basis-point fee on the liabilities of the nationā€™s biggest banks, investment firms and insurers.
  • Uber Technologies Inc. will begin directing users to a cab company in South Koreaā€™s third-largest city as the car-sharing service adjusts its business model to comply with local regulations
  • Intel said its fourth-quarter income jumped 39% on improved demand for its PC and server system chips, but it offered a cautious first-quarter outlook.
  • Dish Network reached a new distribution agreement with 21st Century Foxā€™s Fox News and is putting the channel back on its satellite-TV service, which has more than 14M subscribers, the companies said.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, paring earlier gains, amid investor expectations the European Central Bank will announce a plan for quantitative easing this week.
  • Deutsche Telekom AG, Europeā€™s largest phone company, plans to increase spending on networks in its home market of Germany to ward off rivals including Vodafone Group Plc and Telefonica SA.
  • Mario Draghi is likely to announce a $635 billion bond-purchase program this week and wonā€™t skimp too much on the details, economists say.
  • Asian stocks rose as materials shares led gains and U.S. consumer confidence jumped to an 11-year high. Chinese equities slumped after three of the nationā€™s biggest brokerages were stopped from adding margin-trading accounts.
  • Chinaā€™s biggest brokerages are getting squeezed on two fronts as regulators curb loans to equity traders. Not only does the three-month ban on new margin-trading accounts at Citic Securities Co. and Haitong Securities Co. reduce their potential earnings from lending to clients, it also curbs one of the biggest buyers of the firmsā€™ own shares: margin traders.

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