February 28th, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

 

Economic News:

    • Annualized US GDP for the fourth quarter was quoted at 1.9%, below estimates of 2.1%.
    • The S&P 500/Case-Shiller Home Prices index grew by 5.6% year-over-year, above estimates.
    • The Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Index was quoted at 57.4, above estimates.

Canada:

  • Canadian stocks fell, with the key benchmark gauge hitting a three-week low, as investors pared bets ahead of a major speech by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Bank of Canada’s decision on interest rates this week.
  • Bank of Nova Scotia said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 11 percent, beating analysts’ estimates, on gains in capital markets. The lender raised its quarterly dividend 2.7 percent to 76 cents a share.
  • Bank of Montreal said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 39 percent, helped by a gain from selling businesses and higher earnings in wealth management and capital markets.

United States:

  • Even as global equities climbed to record levels, investors have remained wary as they await details of Trump’s economic policies and watch for signals on the timing for higher rates. The White House began sketching out plans Monday, as Trump followed promises of infrastructure spending with a caution that tax details won’t become clear until after the costs of repealing the Affordable Care Act are known.
  • For the first time in his 37 years working at New Jersey car dealerships, Larry Kull had to rent extra space to store unsold new Honda vehicles — one of the latest signs that the record U.S. auto market is cooling. Across dealer lots in America, inventory is piling up as automakers produce more cars than are being bought. Dealers had about 85 days worth of cars and trucks on hand at the beginning of February — about 22 days more than at the beginning of 2017.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, after a four-day decline, as losses in commodity producers offset further gains in builders. The benchmark trimmed intraday declines on Monday as construction companies rallied on U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about “big” spending on infrastructure.
  • Greece’s auditors are pulling together a list of policies the country needs to implement to unlock additional bailout funds as they prepare for the resumption of talks with Athens on Tuesday, two people familiar with the matter said. Greece has asked European lenders for a draft Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding and the International Monetary Fund for a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies as it braces for details of creditor demands.
  • China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi met U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday in the highest-level contact between the world’s two biggest economies since the election as concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program overshadow campaign tensions over trade.

 

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified