December 4th
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- Initial Jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 297K, slightly above estimates of 295K.
- Continuing Jobless claims in the U.S. were reported at 2.362M, slightly above estimates of 2.328M.
- An ECB Interest Rate Decision resulted in holding the key interest rate at 0.05%.
- The Bank of England interest rate decision resulted in the key interest rate being held at 0.5%
Commodities:
- WTI falls 17 cents to $67.21/bbl on Nymex, having earlier climbed 84c to $68.22.
- Gold retreated as the dollar traded near a five-year high before a European Central Bank meeting today that may give indications on further stimulus.
- Copper rose for the first time in three days on expectations of more growth in the labour market of the U.S., the second-largest metals consumer.
Canada:
- Toronto-Dominion Bank said fourth-quarter profit rose 8 percent as earnings from Canadian consumer lending and wholesale banking increased.
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said fourth-quarter profit fell 1.7 percent after declines in its wholesale banking and Canadian lending businesses. CIBC increased its dividend 3 percent.
- Canada’s dollar gained from almost a five-year low after the nation’s central bank said a long-awaited shift to an economy driven by exports and business investment may be under way.
- Petronas deferred a decision to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Canada in the latest global investment setback from plunging oil prices.
United States:
- U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities climbed to records, as investors weighed prospects for economic growth before data on employment.
- Long-time technology bellwethers — including Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and EMC Corp. — have more than doubled their total debt in the past five years, casting aside their traditional aversion to rapid borrowing.
- Sears Holdings Corp., the department-store chain controlled by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, posted its 10th straight quarterly loss as sales continued to decline.
International:
- European stocks headed for their highest level in almost seven years on optimism Mario Draghi will give more details about an expansion of the European Central Bank’s asset-purchase program.
- Ryanair Holdings Plc upgraded its full-year profit goal for the third time this year, saying that any slowdown in the European economy could push people in its direction as efforts to attract business passengers pay off.
- Asian stocks rose on optimism in the U.S. economic recovery and as the yen neared 120 per dollar, a level it hasn’t breached since July 2007. Chinese shares surged on prospects a jump in trading will boost profits at brokerages.
- SoftBank Corp., the technology company controlled by Masayoshi Son, invested $250 million in GrabTaxi Holdings Pte as the cab-booking service fends off competition from Uber Technologies Inc. in Southeast Asia.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.