June 23rd, 2014
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- The Markit Manufacturing PMI in the Eurozone was reported at 51.9, below estimates of 52.2.
- The Markit Services PMI for the Eurozone was reported at 52.8, below estimates of 53.3.
- The Markit Manufacturing PMI for Germany was reported at 52.4, slightly below estimates of 52.5.
Commodities:
- Brent traded near the highest level since September and West Texas Intermediate gained as militants in Iraq seized more territory and President Obama warned that the crisis may spill over into other countries.
- Gold traded below a two-month high as the rally was seen damping physical and investment demand. Platinum and palladium declined amid expectations that striking miners in South Africa may return to work this week.
- Copper advanced for a seventh consecutive session, the longest rally this year, on signs of manufacturing growth in China, the largest buyer of the metal.
Canada:
- SNC-Lavalin Inc., Canada’s largest engineering company, agreed to buy Kentz Corp. for 1.16 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) to expand in the oil and gas industry.
- The world’s top-performing inflation-linked bonds suggest the Bank of Canada is winning a battle against disinflation after the consumer price index surged above its target for the first time in two years.
- Bank of Nova Scotia agreed to pay $280 million for retailer Cencosud SA’s credit-card and consumer-loan operations in Chile to become the Latin American country’s third-largest card operator.
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agreed to make its first direct infrastructure investment in India by purchasing a minority stake in a unit of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. for $166 million.
United States:
- U.S. stock futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at a record, as investors awaited reports on manufacturing and home purchases in the world’s biggest economy.
- Oracle Corp. agreed to buy Micros Systems Inc. for $5.3 billion as CEO Larry Ellison seeks to reignite slowing growth by adding software for hotels and restaurants.
- General Electric Co. clinched its biggest acquisition ever, the $17 billion purchase of Alstom SA’s energy assets, after the resolution of the French government’s last condition for the deal.
International:
- European stocks declined, after posting a ninth weekly gain in ten, as investors watched developments in Iraq and as euro-area manufacturing weakened.
- BNP Paribas SA is close to an agreement to plead guilty and pay $8 billion to $9 billion to settle allegations it violated U.S. sanctions, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
- Most Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark swinging between gains and losses, as Hong Kong shares led the decline.
- Japanese businesses left behind this year as global equities rallied to a record found a winning strategy in buying back shares the rest of the world preferred to avoid. Companies in the Topix index are acquiring their own stock at the fastest pace ever, led by NTT Docomo Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp.