August 5th

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in general merchandisers in the U.S., was reportedly down 0.4% and up 4.6% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Markit Services PMI in the U.S. was reported at 60.8.
  • Retail Sales growth in the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.4% and 2.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Markit Services PMI in the Eurozone was reported at 54.2.

Commodities:

  • West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the highest price in three days before supply data that will signal the strength of fuel demand in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent in London was steady.
  • Gold climbed in London on speculation prices below $1,300 an ounce will spur demand before the Indian wedding season and China’s Golden Week.

Canada:

  • BlackBerry Ltd. has concluded a protracted and painful restructuring process and is back on a growth footing, according to an internal memo to all its employees viewed by Reuters. “We have completed the restructuring notification process, and the work force reduction that began three years ago is now behind us,” said the memo from BlackBerry’s Chief Executive John Chen. (Globe)
  • State oil giant PetroChina plans to pay the more than $1-billion it needs to complete a takeover of the Dover oil sands project from Canadian firm Athabasca Oil Corp. by the end of September, a person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters. (Globe)

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, following yesterday’s rebound by equities, as investors awaited a report on services activity and earnings releases from Walt Disney Co. and CVS Caremark Corp.
  • Triangle Petroleum Corp., an energy company backed by NGP Energy Capital Management LLC, has begun seeking an adviser for the sale of its oilfield-services business, people familiar with the matter said.
  • Ford Motor Co. plans to expand its manufacturing plants in Africa, where the automaker is introducing models like the Mustang sports car and forecasts industrywide sales will grow 40 percent by 2020.
  • Target Corp., the retailer that chose a new CEO last week, said second-quarter profit trailed its forecast as U.S. sales remained weak and its Canadian operations continued to struggle.

International:

  • European stocks rose, rebounding from four days of losses, as companies including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Credit Agricole SA reported better-than-expected quarterly profit.
  • Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the orld’s biggest manufacturer of luxury autos, reported its highest profitability from carmaking in three years as the X5 port-utility vehicle won customers and demand rose in China.
  • Asian stocks fell after a private gauge of China’s services industries declined to a record low and as investors weighed company earnings.
  • Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, reported profit unexpectedly climbed to a record last quarter as surging SUV sales in the U.S. eclipsed shrinking demand in Japan.
  • Egypt plans to dig a new channel parallel to the Suez Canal in an $8.2 billion venture to boost capacity at the vital global waterway, marking a new era of regeneration after the 2011 revolution.

 

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