April 22nd, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly up 2.3%.
  • The U.S. Housing Price Index was reportedly up 0.7% in month-over-month terms.

Commodities:

  • Oil fell for a second day before U.S. government data that’s forecast to show crude stockpiles expanded further from a record.
  • The gold market is stuck in a holding pattern. Prices have alternated between daily gains and losses for the past week and a measure of 60-day volatility dropped to the lowest since November.

Canada:

  • Canada is closing a tax loophole used by financial institutions on derivatives contracts, saving the government as much as C$1.24 billion ($1 billion) over four years.
  • Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reacted to 2008’s financial crisis by exiting risky businesses and concentrating on domestic lending. Now, as the nation’s economy slows, the bank finds itself most exposed among peers to a decline in consumer borrowing.
  • Canada will extend natural gas export licenses to 40 years while cutting taxes for small businesses and the manufacturing industry in a budget designed to boost flagging business investment.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures retreated, erasing an earlier advance, before companies including McDonald’s Corp. and Boeing Co. report earnings.
  • Google Inc. is set to unveil its planned U.S. mobile-phone service as early as Wednesday, and is expected to let customers pay only for data they use every month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

International:

  • European stocks fell for the first time in three days as investors watched earnings reports.
  • Bank of America Corp. was fined 13.3 million pounds ($20 million) by the British markets regulator for failing to properly report millions of transactions, the highest such penalty imposed by the U.K. to date.
  • Germany’s government expects Europe’s largest economy to expand 1.8 percent this year as consumers spend more, raising an earlier forecast.
  • Asian shares rose, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average closing above 20,000 for the first time since April 2000. China’s benchmark climbed to a seven-year high on bets the government will counter slowing growth with stimulus.
  • Sony Corp. raised its profit forecast for the second time since February as Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai’s revamp stokes earnings from games and financial services. Shares rose.
  • Singapore Exchange Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest bourse operator, reported a 16 percent increase in quarterly profit as equity turnover climbed and a rally in Chinese stocks spurred demand for derivatives.
  • Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer outlined plans to explore options for the company’s stake in its Japanese division, heartening investors dismayed by another report showing disappointing sales and profit.

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