June 8th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Housing starts in Canada were up 201.7K in year-over-year terms, above estimates of 185K.
  • Building permits in Canada were up 11.6%, far above estimates of a 6% drop.
  • Industrial production in Germany was reportedly up 0.9% and 1.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil held its biggest weekly loss since March on speculation a global surplus will persist as Iran pledges to boost exports amid unyielding OPEC production.
  • Gold halted a three-day decline as the dollar stabilized. Platinum rebounded from a six-year low.

Canada:

  • General Electric Co. is poised for a $12 billion deal as soon as Monday to sell more than half of its U.S. private-equity lending arm to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board while Ares Management LP seeks to buy the rest of that business, people familiar with the matter said.
  • The average price for detached homes within the city of Vancouver has rocketed to a record $2.23-million as the provincial government faces pressure to cool off the scorching housing market. (Globe)

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities posted a second weekly decline, as investors considered the possible timing of a rate increase and the outlook for Greece’s debt negotiations.
  • Monsanto Co. is prepared to pay a $2 billion break-up fee should its $45 billion takeover bid for Syngenta AG fail as it presses to jumpstart talks on combining its leading franchise for genetically modified seeds with the world’s largest maker of agricultural chemicals.
  • Heartland Express Inc. shares are outpacing those of Knight Transportation Inc. as investors bet Heartland’s earnings growth will accelerate, while its trucking competitor’s slows.

International:

  • European stocks fell, with Germany’s benchmark index retreating 10 percent from its April peak.
  • Trafigura Beheer BV said first-half profit surged to a record as the commodity trader reaped gains from oil-price volatility and by storing crude for future delivery.
  • Diageo Plc, the maker of Guinness stout and Johnnie Walker whisky, surged in London trading on a report that a billionaire backer of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is considering a takeover bid.
  • Asia’s benchmark stock index extended a two-month low after better-than-forecast U.S. employment data bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.
  • Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. dropped the most in five months after the world’s largest listed jewelry chain reported earnings that missed analyst estimates.

 

 

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