February 17th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Canadian portfolio investment in foreign securities was reported at $13.89B, while foreign portfolio investment in Canadian securities was reported at -$13.55B.
  • The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index was reported at 7.78, below estimates of 8.50.
  • A survey of economic sentiment in the Eurozone was reported at 52.7, above estimates of 51.3. 

Commodities:

  • Oil extended three consecutive weekly gains in London as OPEC ministers signalled their confidence that the market can sustain its rebound.
  • Gold and silver fell on speculation Chinese demand will decline before the nation begins the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday.
  • Copper’s global oversupply may be smaller than forecast this year after BHP Billiton Ltd. reported output disruptions at its Olympic Dam mine.

Canada:

  • Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agreed to go into mediated arbitration, ending a strike that began over the weekend.
  • TransCanada announced a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and boosted its dividend by 8%, reflecting higher pipeline-project earnings and new assets placed into service last year.
  • The family that controls Bombardier took a step back from the plane and train maker Thursday, naming an outsider, Alain Bellemare, as its new chief executive. The company also announced a financing plan and its suspension of its dividend.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reached a record.
  • IBM is introducing new storage software as the company tries to boost sales for higher-margin technology products.
  • Kraft Foods Group said its fourth-quarter revenue rose 2.2%, reflecting some improvement in pricing to offset higher input costs, as it announced a series of management changes.
  • Zynga reported a significantly wider loss for a holiday and projected lower-than-expected revenue for the current period amid additional investments by the game maker in search of its next big hit.
  • Groupon said its fourth-quarter revenue rose 20% and it confirmed that multiple parties have expressed preliminary interest in acquiring its Ticket Monster business.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed as a rise in commodity stocks offset a drop in Greek shares.
  • A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine is being ignored in the strategic transport hub of Debaltseve, where raging battles risk undermining a fragile peace accord sealed after all-night talks last week in Belarus.
  • Telefonica SA, the biggest European phone carrier in Latin America, reduced the value of its Venezuelan assets by 2.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) by switching to a lower exchange rate for last year.
  • Asian stocks fell from a 4 1/2 month high as financial shares led declines.
  • Shares of Noble Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based commodities trader, sank the most in three years on Monday. Sound Global Ltd. posted a record drop, while Ozner Water International Holding Ltd. lost 20 percent. The common factor driving all three was research reports, at least two of them by short sellers, alleging accounting irregularities.
  • New-home prices rose in more Chinese cities tracked by the government last month after the removal of property curbs and easier credit boosted demand, reducing pressure on developers to offer discounts.

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