March 8th, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

 

Economic News:

  • Labour Productivity in Canada was reportedly up 0.4% in the fourth quarter.
  • The US ADP Employment Change for the US was quoted at 298K, far above estimates of 190K.
  • The Chinese Consumer Price Index was up 0.6% and 0.5% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • Industrial Production in Germany was up 2.8% in month-over-month terms, above estimates.

Canada:

  • Amaya Inc. founder David Baazov sold more than a quarter of his stake in the PokerStars owner days after the company announced new rules making it harder for him to attempt a takeover. Baazov, who in December withdrew a bid to take Amaya private, sold 7 million shares for C$133 million ($99.1 million).
  • Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, said it will start building a C$479 million ($357 million) office tower in downtown Toronto without a major tenant in place, underscoring the developer’s confidence in the market for top-quality space.

United States:

  • Futures trading suggests the record-setting U.S. equity rally may be running on empty. E-mini contracts on the S&P 500 Index are falling for a fifth day after a two-session pullback in the underlying gauge. That’s the longest run of declines in the futures since just before the presidential election, when Donald Trump’s victory unleashed a stock-buying spree that drove U.S. markets to all-time highs.
  • Treasuries headed for the longest losing streak in five years before a U.S. debt auction on Wednesday and as the market prepares for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as next week. The dollar rose, while sterling extended its decline ahead of the U.K. budget.

International:

  • European stocks held steady, with gains in lenders and miners undercut by declines in real estate and oil companies, as investors remained cautious ahead of a European Central Bank meeting tomorrow.
  • Adidas AG raised its sales and earnings forecasts through 2020 as new Chief Executive Officer Kasper Rorsted seeks to transform the German sportswear maker’s namesake label and Reebok into fast-fashion businesses and jettisons underperforming units.
  • Asian stocks were little changed after two days of gains as investors awaited a near certain interest rate hike in the U.S. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up by less than 0.1 percent as of 3:18 p.m. in Hong Kong after rising on Monday and on Tuesday.
  • Indian stocks are leading gains in Asia this year, the rupee has recouped almost all its losses since Donald Trump’s U.S. election win and foreigners have pumped $2.4 billion into the country’s bonds and equities.
  • SoftBank Group Corp. plans to sell a 25 percent stake in ARM Holdings Plc to a technology fund it is creating with Saudi Arabia after lead investors expressed a desire to include the chipmaker in their portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified