June 17th, 2015
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- Wholesale sales in Canada, were up 1.9% in month-over-month terms, above estimates.
- MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were down 5.5%.
- Construction output in the Eurozone was up 0.3% and flat in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
Commodities:
- Oil advanced for a second day as a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles bolstered speculation that the country’s surplus is easing.
- Gold fell before the Federal Reserve ends a two-day meeting and as Greek debt talks remained deadlocked. Platinum extended a six-year low and palladium neared a bear market.
Canada:
- Bombardier Inc. slumped the most since March as the second day of the Paris Air Show passed with no new aircraft orders or commitments for the maker of the CSeries jetliner.
- A liquefied natural gas consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC is expected to receive B.C. environmental approval within days as the group positions itself to be one of the first LNG exporters in the province. (Globe)
United States:
- U.S. stock-index futures rose as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting for clues on the timing of any interest-rate increase.
- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. owns more than $76 billion of assets through a web of units in offshore tax havens around the world, though you wouldn’t know it from reading the giant retailer’s annual report.
- Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group LP, the two biggest private equity firms, have teamed up to consider a buyout of NCR Corp., according to two people with knowledge of the process.
International:
- European stocks declined, amid continued debate over Greece’s fate.
- Deutsche Telekom AG shares rose as much as 2.1 percent in Frankfurt trading after Manager Magazine reported that Comcast Corp. is interested in a deal with the German company’s T-Mobile US unit.
- Bank of England officials said restraints on the economy and inflation are fading as they weighed the need to continue emergency policy settings.
- Vivendi SA is considering a plan to increase its stake in Telecom Italia SpA to as much as 15 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- Asian stocks outside Japan rose for the first time in three days, led by Australian banks.
- South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is probing how alleged foreign-exchange market rigging by six global banks including Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp. may have hurt Korean firms, the Seoul Economic Daily reported.
- Japan’s exports rose at the slowest pace in May since a decline in August last year, sapping a recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.
- Indian steelmakers, including Tata Steel Ltd., Steel Authority of India Ltd. and JSW Steel Ltd., jumped in Mumbai after India raised import taxes on certain types of the alloy to stem inflows.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.