April 7th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in U.S. General Merchandising companies, was reportedly up 1.3% and 3.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Producer Price Index in the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.5% and down 2.8% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Sentix Investor Confidence survey for the Eurozone was reported at 20, in line with estimates.
  • The Markit Services PMI for the Eurozone was reported at 54.2, slightly below estimates.

Commodities:

  • Oil fell after the biggest rally in two months as investors weighed forecasts for rising U.S. crude supplies against signs that Saudi Arabia is betting on an improvement in demand.
  • Gold retreated from a seven-week high as the dollar strengthened and investors sold metal from bullion-backed funds. Silver and platinum declined.
  • Copper rebounded from the lowest in two weeks on the outlook for more stimulus in China, the biggest metals consumer. Nickel declined.

Canada:

  • Canada’s government is selling its final stake in General Motors Co., worth about $2.7 billion, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper seeks new funding to meet pre-election promises amid an oil rout.
  • Concordia Healthcare Corp. is eyeing bigger targets and more assets in Europe, extending an acquisition streak that has helped make the Canadian company the top performer on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year.
  • Catamaran Corp. was sued by a shareholder claiming the prescription benefits manager’s directors failed to get the top price for the company when they agreed to its $12.8 billion acquisition by UnitedHealth Group Inc.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may halt two days of gains.
  • FedEx Corp. agreed to buy Dutch parcel-delivery company TNT Express NV for 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion), predicting it can succeed where bigger rival United Parcel Service Inc. was blocked by regulators in 2013.
  • Health insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc. will see revenue for commercial Medicare policies increase 1.25 percent next year, reversing an earlier U.S. government proposal that would have cut payments.

International:

  • European stocks jumped as markets reopened after the Easter holiday, amid investor confidence that central banks will continue to support economies.
  • Vivendi SA offered to buy YouTube’s smaller rival Dailymotion from Orange SA while another bidder, Hong Kong-based PCCW Ltd., said it dropped out because France prefers a European purchaser for the video service.
  • Vodafone Group Plc is paying $4 billion to keep its mobile-phone networks running in India. It could cost the company its credit ratings too.
  • Asian stocks rose after comments by a Federal Reserve official fuelled optimism that U.S. policy makers will hold interest rates lower for longer.
  • Sony Corp. announced its second boost to capacity for chips used in camera sensors this year to meet demand for components it supplies for devices including Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

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