February 1st, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Personal Spending in the US was flat in December in month-over-month terms. Slightly below estimates.
  • Personal Income Growth in the US was up 0.3% in month-over-month terms, slightly above estimates.

Commodities:

  • Oil’s longest rally this year faltered on signs industrial activity in the world’s biggest energy consumer is deteriorating and as OPEC pumps a record amount of crude.

Canada:

  • Alberta’s oil-sands producers dodged a bullet after the Canadian province recognized the industry faces an “existential threat” from the U.S. shale boom and left rates unchanged for heavy oil in a long-awaited royalties review.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures declined, after equities’ biggest jump in four months, as worsening Chinese data reignited concern about the impact of the country’s slowdown on global growth.
  • Aetna Inc., the U.S.’s third-biggest health insurer by enrolment, posted operating profit that beat analysts’ expectations after the company spent less on medical care than a year ago.

International:

  • European stocks fluctuated after last week’s rebound trimmed the worst January loss since 2008.
  • HSBC Holdings Plc will impose a global hiring and pay freeze as part of its drive to cut as much as $5 billion in costs by the end of 2017.
  • Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to settle allegations by New York’s top cop and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they misled investors on how they managed their private trading platforms.
  • Nokia Oyj shares fell the most in nine months after an award from a Samsung Electronics Co. patent dispute fell short of analysts’ estimates, a sign that extracting royalty revenue from smartphone makers is becoming challenging as global demand for handsets slows.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index heading for its fourth day of advances, as shares in Tokyo extended Friday’s rally after the Bank of Japan stepped up its monetary stimulus.
  • Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s third-quarter profit fell 27 percent, led by a drop in bond trading and lending income and lower gains from the sale of its shareholdings.
  • Sony Corp. gained $3.3 billion of market value after reporting better-than-expected profit with a huge helping hand from Hollywood, music and games last quarter.

 

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