February 6, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

Economic News:

  • The Canadian dollar cleared a major technical hurdle versus the U.S. dollar last week, which puts it en route toward next significant resistance at around 1.2000.
  • European stocks advanced on Monday, adding to Friday’s gains, as investors favored mining shares while preparing for European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s testimony at the European Parliament, which may give clues on the outlook for the ECB’s stimulus program.
  • S. index futures were little changed, after stocks jumped the most in a week, as traders assessed the trajectory for interest rates while scrutinizing the narrative coming from the White House.
  • S. President Donald Trump’s move toward looser regulation of the financial industry pushed Asian shares higher. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped the most in a month to post the biggest regional gain. Insurers accounted for five of the seven biggest gainers on the gauge, with China Life Insurance Co. having its largest one-day advance since August 2015.

 

Commodities:

  • Metals: Gold: 1226.11 (+$5.81, +0.48%), Silver: 17.60 (+$0.08, +0.48%); Copper: 2.6330 (+0.65%); Aluminum: 0.8281 (-0.47%); Nickel: 4.7075 (+1.49%); Zinc: 1.2490 (-1.53%)
  • Energy: Crude: 53.99 (+0.30%); Brent: 56.89 (+0.14%); Nat Gas: 3.07 (+0.36%)
  • The global copper market could swing to a deficit should workers strike at BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Escondida, according to Barclays Plc, which said supply risks at the world’s largest mine in Chile as well as at Indonesia’s Grasberg may push the metal above $6,000 a metric ton.
  • Oil traded near $54 a barrel as increased tension between Iran and the U.S. countered expectations of rising American production. U.S. drillers boosted the rig count by 17 to 583, the most since October 2015.
  • Gold trades near the highest level since November as investors assess what the U.S. payrolls data on Friday mean for Federal Reserve policy amid the political uncertainty created by President Donald Trump.

 

Canada:

  • Hudson’s Bay Co. is in early stage talks with Macy’s Inc. about a possible takeover of the struggling department-store chain, according to a person familiar with the matter.
  • Open Text to cut 5% of 12,000 – strong documented workforce. Cuts are part of restructuring, which will result in $50 million charge split across fiscal 2017 and into fiscal 2018.
  • National Bank of Canada has set a goal of being a “Top 3” Canadian investment bank within five years, setting up a showdown with bigger rivals as the Montreal-based lender seeks to win more business from the nation’s largest companies.

 

 

International:

  • Ithaca Energy Inc., a North Sea explorer, agreed to a takeover offer from Delek Group Ltd. for a cash consideration of C$1.95 ($1.50) a share. The offer, unanimously recommended by Ithaca’s board, values the Aberdeen, Scotland-based company at C$841 million ($645 million), Ithaca said Monday in a regulatory statement.
  • Brexit has already damaged businesses even before Prime Minister Theresa May triggers the start of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, according to a survey of the country’s largest companies.
  • China Reading Ltd., the online literature unit of internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., has asked investment banks to pitch for a role arranging a Hong Kong initial public offering
  • Middle East investors, benefiting from a weak pound and rising oil prices, increased their spending in U.K. commercial property even as Brexit prompted buyers from every other region to shrink their spending. Investors from the region accounted for 24 percent of all overseas acquisitions in the fourth quarter compared with 10 percent a year earlier.
  • Foreign investors are losing their passion for Chinese government debt as prices slide. Overseas funds sold a net 1.9 billion yuan ($277 million) of the nation’s sovereign bonds in January, the first reduction since October 2015.
  • Singapore is considering a range of measures to lure a listing from energy giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co., according to people familiar with the matter, as global exchanges compete for a slice of what could be the world’s largest-ever initial public offering.
  • Apple Inc. has put back on the table a request to sell used iPhones in India as it negotiates with the government for concessions to start production in the country. The company has asked to bring in used iPhones to be refurbished and sold in India, saying it will have the manufacturing infrastructure needed to make them compliant with quality standards.
  • Toyota Motor Corp. raised its full-year forecasts — albeit falling short of analysts’ estimates — as the carmaker sought to navigate rising protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump and as the yen’s volatility weighed on prospects for exports of its Prius and Lexus models.
  • Asia’s top two performing currencies so far this year are unlikely to enjoy prolonged gains, with the new U.S. administration’s increasing turn toward protectionism set to hit the economies of South Korea and Taiwan. Rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration blasting the alleged manipulation of exchange rates abroad has helped Taiwan’s dollar and the South Korean won advance 4.3 percent and 6.1 percent against the dollar since the year started.

 

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified