June 27th, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The industrial product price index in Canada was reportedly down 0.5% in month-over-month terms, below estimates of 0%.
  • The Raw material price index in Canada was reportedly down 0.4% in May, below estimates of -0.1%.
  • The Consumer Price Index in Germany was reportedly up 0.3% and 1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Brent headed for the first weekly drop since violence erupted in Iraq amid speculation that oil output would remain safe in OPEC’s second-biggest producer. West Texas Intermediate was steady in New York.
  • Gold traded near a two-month high in London as investors weighed signs of an uneven U.S. economic recovery. Silver reached the highest level since March.
  • Copper fell, paring a second weekly advance, amid concern that demand to use metals as collateral for loans may decline in China and as a Federal Reserve official signalled U.S. interest rates could rise by March.

Canada:

  • Encana Corp., Canada’s largest natural gas producer, agreed to sell its Bighorn assets in Alberta to Apollo Global Management for about $1.8 billion as the company continues to shift into oil production.
  • The bond market is starting to price in a greater probability the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates next year before the Federal Reserve, with consumer price increases outstripping those in the U.S. 

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index heading for a weekly decline, as investors awaited data on U.S. consumer confidence to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy.
  • United Technologies Corp. won a $1.28 billion contract from the U.S. Air Force for combat rescue helicopters that will replace an aging fleet.
  • The dollar slumped to its lowest level against a basket of major peers in seven weeks as reports this week highlighted speculation the U.S. economic recovery hasn’t fully gained traction.
  • GoPro surged as the maker of the popular sport-digital cameras made its debut as a public company. GoPro raised $427 million in its IPO.
  • Bed Bath and Beyond said its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 7.6% as higher costs offset the home furnishings retailer’s revenue growth.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, with the benchmark index heading for the biggest weekly loss since early April, as investors awaited data on U.S. consumer confidence to gauge the outlook for the world’s largest economy.
  • The European Central Bank updated the list of banks it considers significant enough to supervise, trimming the total and adding two Russian-owned lenders and a unit of Barclays Plc.
  • Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index paring its seventh straight weekly gain, as a Federal Reserve official said the U.S. may raise interest rates by March.
  • Japan’s consumer prices climbed at the fastest pace in 32 years, boosted by higher utility charges and a sales-tax increase that contributed to the biggest slide in household spending since the March 2011 earthquake.
  • Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, cementing the 222-year-old market’s newfound strength in technology companies.
  • Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest brokerage, increased Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai’s compensation by 80 percent to 298 million yen ($2.9 million) last year as profit surged.