August 8th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Building Permits in Canada were down 5.5% in month-over-month terms.
  • A Sentix survey of investor confidence in the EU was reported at 4.2, above estimates.

Commodities:

  • Oil gained after OPEC’s president said the group will hold informal talks in Algiers next month and predicted the current bear market would be short lived.
  • Gold fell to the lowest level in a week after Friday’s U.S. jobs report showed strength in the labor market and raised bets the Federal Reserve will boost interest rates this year
  • Copper rallied with other industrial metals, rebounding from the lowest level in four weeks, after U.S. jobs data burnished sentiment toward the world’s biggest economy.

Canada:

  • British Columbia’s decision to impose a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers to cool Vancouver’s scorching housing market is poised to derail more than 400 deals worth millions of dollars and may prompt calls for legal action.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose, signaling optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy will propel equities higher for a fourth day.
  • Three judges are set to rule on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s last line of defense for Copaxone, its best-selling multiple sclerosis injection. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office will decide on the legitimacy of patents that expire in 2030, which safeguard the drug’s thrice-weekly regimen and the $4 billion in annual sales it rakes in.

 

International:

  • European shares rose, heading for their biggest three-day increase in more than three weeks, amid investor optimism about global growth.
  • Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s European acquisition spree swept across the Atlantic as the South African retailer agreed to buy Mattress Firm Holding Corp. for about $2.4 billion.
  • Airbus Group SE said the U.K. Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption relating to some of its third-party consultants.
  • Asian stocks rose to the highest level in a year as a weaker yen buoyed Japanese equities after a strong U.S. jobs report increased risk appetite.
  • The yuan fell by the most in three weeks after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.

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