April 4th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • A Sentix survey of investor confidence for the Eurozone was reported at 5.7, which was below expectations.
  • The unemployment rate in the Eurozone was quoted at 10.3%.
  • The Producer Price Index in the Eurozone was reportedly down 0.7% and down 4.2% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

 

Commodities:

  • Brent crude traded near a four-week low after Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince said the world’s biggest oil exporter will freeze output only if Iran follows suit, putting in doubt the success of a proposed deal between major producers.
  • Gold sank for a second day as U.S. jobs and manufacturing data added to speculation that growth in world’s largest economy is gaining momentum, damping demand for the metal as an alternative asset.
  • Copper is heading for its longest losing streak in two years amid concern a glut will persist as miners press on with cost cuts and banks such as Barclays Plc see more losses.

Canada:

  • Among Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s vocal detractors, short seller Andrew Left of Citron Research played a big role in its almost 90 percent plunge. While the drugmaker’s rocky few months stung investors, they have been something less than a triumph for Left’s bearish brethren.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures inched higher, as investors looked for fresh cues after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at its highest level of 2016.
  • The dollar’s worst quarter in more than three years has the currency’s backers boning up on their history to judge whether its long-term advance is finished.
  • Alaska Air Group Inc. agreed to buy Richard Branson-backed Virgin America Inc. for $2.6 billion, according to a statement Monday.
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise will sell its majority stake in IT services firm Mphasis Ltd. for about $825 million to Blackstone Group LP, as the U.S. private equity firm expands in India while the computer maker exits from tangential businesses.

International:

  • European stocks rose for the first time in three days, on optimism that strength in the U.S. economy will help global growth, while telecommunication companies fell.
  • Euro-area unemployment retreated in February to the lowest since 2011, continuing its slow decline as the economy grows at a modest pace.
  • Leaked files from a Panama law firm that creates shell companies show that politicians, criminals and celebrities worldwide have used banks and shadow companies to hide their finances, according to a series of reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
  • Asian stocks rose, following U.S. shares higher, as expectations for an immediate hike in U.S. interest rates remained low even after better-than-expected economic reports.
  • Honda Motor Co. will conduct at least the sixth round of major recalls involving its top-selling Fit compact in less than three years, as the Japanese automaker struggles to move past the quality woes that contributed to a change in chief executive officers.
  • The best month since 2009 for developing-nation stocks boosted the combined value of the 31 biggest emerging markets by $1.83 trillion.

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