June 9th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The New Housing Price Index was up 0.3% and 2.1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • Initial Jobless Claims in the US were 264K, below estimates.

 

Commodities

  • Oil traded near the highest closing level in more than 10 months amid declining U.S. crude stockpiles and disruptions in producing nations such as Canada and Nigeria.
  • Gold traded near a three-week high on prospects that central bank policies will continue to be accommodative, with the European Central Bank embarking on a corporate bond-buying program and investors betting that U.S. rates will stay lower for longer.

Canada:

  • Glencore Plc agreed to sell just-under a 10 percent stake in its agriculture unit to Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corp. for $624.9 million in cash as it continues to cut debt.
  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension plan, committed $450 million to LongPoint Minerals to invest in U.S. oil and gas royalty interests.
  • Ontario will spend as much as C$8.3 billion ($6.5 billion) through 2020 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, betting big on electric vehicles with rebates of as much as C$14,000 a car and 500 charging stations to spur sales.

 

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures fell, indicating declines for the S&P 500 after a three-day advance took the benchmark close to an all-time high.
  • Uber Technologies Inc. wants to work with carmakers, not build vehicles itself, Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick said, leaving open the possibility of more partnerships after last month’s agreement with Toyota Motor Corp.
  • com Inc. is joining the fray in one of the world’s most cutthroat grocery markets. The e-commerce giant said Thursday its Amazon Fresh food delivery business will now be available to users of its Prime membership plan in central and east London, the first time the service has been offered outside the U.S.

International:

  • Skepticism over the European Central Bank’s stimulus program weighed on the region’s shares for a second day, taking their valuations to the lowest levels since January 2015 relative to global stocks.
  • U.K. exports surged in April to their highest level in almost three years as Britain shipped more to countries both inside and outside the European Union.
  • Since a surprise interest-rate cut at his first meeting as European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi has shown a penchant for pushing the envelope. The bank’s entry into the corporate bond market on Wednesday was no exception: buying bonds with junk ratings. The second day didn’t disappoint either, with purchases of notes from troubled German carmaker Volkswagen AG.
  • UBS Group AG, which said last month it’s looking for ways to cut costs, is eliminating some management positions in its U.S. wealth unit and reducing the number of financial advisers recruited from competitors.
  • Asian stocks retreated from a six-week high as a strengthening yen pressured Japanese shares, overshadowing gains from energy producers amid a rally in crude.
  • South Korea’s central bank unexpectedly cut the benchmark interest rate to a new record low Thursday, citing growing risks to the economy including slowing global trade and the government’s push to restructure indebted companies.

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