July 26th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth of US General Merchandising stores, was down 0.5% and up 0.6% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices were up 5.2% in year-over-year terms, slightly below estimates.

Commodities:

  • Oil fell to a three-month low in New York as supplies were considered to be plentiful even as stockpiles were seen deepening a record pullback in the U.S., the biggest fuel consumer.
  • Gold pushed higher as the dollar fell before a Federal Reserve policy meeting and as a Bank of England official said U.K. stimulus is more likely after the economy was hit by a decision to quit the European Union.
  • Copper fell to the lowest level in almost two weeks in Shanghai as Chinese smelters expand production amid improving margins, exacerbating global oversupply.

Canada:

  • Canada stocks fell the most in a month, dropping from the highest level in a year to halt a three-day advance as commodities producers retreated with crude and gold.
  • Canada plans to tax overseas investors buying homes in Vancouver, one of North America’s hottest property markets, as it seeks to tamp down price gains in an area that absorbed more than C$1 billion ($760 million) of foreign money in five weeks alone.
  • Canadian National Railway Co. reported second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as the carrier cut jobs and parked locomotives to blunt the effects of weakening freight demand.

United States:

  • U.S. index futures were little changed as investors awaited a Federal Reserve update for clues on the trajectory of interest-rate increases and weighed earnings reports.
  • McDonald’s Corp. is planning a sale of 20-year franchise rights in Malaysia and Singapore that could collectively fetch at least $400 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, erasing earlier declines, as gains in commodity producers offset losses in banks and energy share.
  • Anheuser-Busch InBev NV raised its bid for British brewer SABMiller Plc to 79 billion pounds ($103 billion), trying to assuage investor concern that the deal is less attractive after the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union prompted a slump in sterling.
  • Volkswagen AG is racing toward resolution of more than 1,000 consumer lawsuits over emissions-cheating software but it may be years before 482,000 polluting vehicles are either taken off U.S. roads or repaired.
  • Asian stocks fell, after U.S. equities slipped from a record, before policy meetings by the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan this week.
  • Japan’s Nidec Corp. is the leading bidder for Emerson Electric Co.’s motors and drives unit in a sale that may fetch about $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

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