April 6th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Mortgage Applications in the US were up 2.7% in the US in March.
  • Industrial Production in Germany was up1.3% in year-over-year terms.
  • The China services PMI was reported at 52.2.

 

Commodities:

  • Oil extended gains after Kuwait said a deal to freeze output can be reached without Iran and U.S. industry data showed crude stockpiles declined.
  • Gold retreated from its biggest gain in a week before the release of Federal Reserve minutes that may offer clues on the prospects for U.S. interest-rate increases.

Canada:

  • Ontario is selling a stake in Hydro One Ltd. for C$1.71 billion ($1.3 billion) five months after completing Canada’s largest initial public offering since 2000.
  • Canada’s largest pension fund agreed to pay $2.5 billion for a minority stake in Glencore Plc’s agriculture unit as the commodity trader and miner works to reduce its debt burden.
  • CAE wins defense contracts valued at more than C$175m to provide range of simulation products, training support services for global military customers.

United States:

  • U.S. futures rose, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rebound from its worst drop in almost a month, supported by a rally in oil prices.
  • Pfizer Inc. decided to terminate its $160 billion merger with Allergan Plc, a person familiar with the matter said, marking an end to the largest-ever health-care acquisition as officials in Washington crack down on corporate inversions.

 

International:

  • Stocks rebounded from a six-week low in Europe as gains in crude prices sent energy shares higher.
  • Doubts are mounting about the future of the U.K.’s membership in the European Union, but you wouldn’t know it from the country’s stocks. Rather than being punished for a lack of certainty, they’ve become the most expensive ever relative to others in the region.
  • Nokia Oyj will reduce its workforce in over 30 countries, cutting jobs across the globe as part of a plan to save more than $1 billion annually following its merger with networking hardware rival Alcatel-Lucent SA.
  • American International Group Inc., the insurer under pressure from activist investors, may eliminate about 125 positions in the U.K. as it scales back in certain countries and moves jobs to lower-cost locations, according to people familiar with the plan.
  • Chinese stocks fell from a three-month high, dragged down by banks and insurers.

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