January 28th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly down 3.2%.
  • The Import Price Index in Germany was reportedly down 1.7% and 3.7% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Consumer Price Index in Australia was reportedly up 0.2% and 1.7% in quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil declined from a three-day high in New York amid estimates that U.S. crude inventories increased to their highest level since 1982.
  • Gold declined, paring the biggest rise in a week, as investors assessed the outlook for U.S. interest rates before the Federal Reserve ends a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Copper and zinc helped lead gains in industrial metals.
  • Oil’s slump is set to extend the biggest drop in liquefied natural gas costs in five years, spurring demand in emerging Asian economies.

Canada:

  • Cenovus further reducing 2015 capex to preserve cash, maintain strength of balance sheet, has deferred ~C$700m in capex originally planned for this yr.
  • Franco-Nevada Corp., sees sagging commodity prices as an opportunity to complete deals worth more than $1 billion this year. “I’d like to deploy all my cash this year,” David Harquail, chief executive officer of the Toronto-based company, said in an interview in Vancouver Monday. “That would be my ideal.”
  • Canada’s six biggest banks cut their prime lending rates 15 basis points to 2.85 percent, failing to fully match a rate reduction by the nation’s central bank six days earlier.
  • Canada reduced its estimate of job creation last year as part of an update to incorporate data from the last census, saying employers added 121,300 jobs to end the year with the unemployment rate of 6.7%

United States

  • Nasdaq 100 Index futures rallied, signaling the equity gauge will rebound from its biggest drop since April, as Apple Inc. posted a record $18 billion in quarterly profit.
  • AT&T Inc., topped profit and sales estimates as more customers than analysts expected were lured in by the company’s phone and tablet promotions.
  • Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates as weak demand in Latin America muted gains from US sales of Ram pickups and Jeep SUVs.
  • Hess Corp. reported a fourth quarter net loss after crude prices fell.

International:

  • European stocks declined for a second day, erasing earlier gains, as Greek equities led losses.
  • Roche Holding AG’s annual earnings stagnated for the first time in three years, missing analysts’ estimates as unfavourable exchange rates and higher costs eroded growth.
  • Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix index closing at its highest level in seven weeks, as advances by companies that profit from cheaper oil outweighed a decline by energy explorers.
  • Singapore unexpectedly eased monetary policy, sending the currency to the weakest since 2010 against the U.S. dollar as the country joined global central banks in shoring up growth amid dwindling inflation.
  • By spinning off its stake in Alibaba Group Holding, Yahoo Inc. will remove a key reason for investors to hold the stock, increasing pressure on CEO Marissa Mayer to revive growth from other assets.

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