October 26th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • An IFO Survey on the Business Climate in Germany was reported at 108.2, slightly above estimates.
  • BBA Mortgage Approvals in the UK were slightly below estimates in September.

Commodities:

  • Gold held declines after a three-day drop as investors weighed the prospect for higher U.S. borrowing costs against a dimming global economic outlook before a Federal Reserve meeting this week.
  • The discount on front-month U.S. crude futures widened to the most in five months after inventories reached the highest level for the season in 85 years.

Canada:

  • British Columbia is poised to become the first foreign government to issue panda bonds as the Canadian province seeks closer business ties with China.
  • Key automotive provisions of the Trans-Pacific trade agreement are bad for Canada, so the new Liberal government needs to take a careful look at the deal before approving it, says Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. chief executive officer Dianne Craig. (Globe)

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures retreated, as investors paused before the latest batch of earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last week erased its losses for the year.
  • General Motors Co. and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative four-year agreement that is expected to provide raises across the board, averting a potential strike.
  • Duke Energy Inc. agreed to acquire Piedmont Natural Gas Co. for $4.9 billion in cash.
  • The U.S. Air Force plans to award Tuesday the contract to develop and produce its next-generation bomber, according to defense officials, settling a competition between Northrop Grumman Corp. and a team of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

International:

  • European stocks dropped with U.S. equity-index futures, while the dollar slipped against major peers as investors assessed the implications of China’s latest round of monetary easing before central banks in the U.S. and Japan meet later this week.
  • German business confidence fell for the first time in four months in October, signalling that a slowdown in global demand is taking its toll on Europe’s largest economy.
  • Volkswagen AG lost the lead in global auto sales to Toyota Motor Corp. after claiming the No. 1 spot three months ago, as the German carmaker braces for consumer blowback from a widening emissions-cheating scandal.
  • Asian stocks rose after China’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate, stepping up efforts to cushion a deepening economic slowdown.

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