March 15th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Retail Sales in the US were down 0.1% in month-over-month terms, slightly above estimates.
  • The NY Empire State Manufacturing index was reported at 0.62, far above estimates.
  • The Producer Price Index in the US was down 0.2% in month-over-month terms, in line with estimates.
  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth of US general merchandising companies, was reportedly up 2.8% and 0.6% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms.

 

Commodities:

  • Brent dropped for a second day as Iran bolstered crude exports and Russia signaled the Persian Gulf nation won’t join major producers in freezing output to manage a global glut.
  • Gold dropped for a third day to the lowest level in almost two weeks before the Federal Reserve concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
  • Copper in London dropped, leading declines in industrial metals, as mounting inventories in China spur concerns over demand in the world’s biggest user amid the slowdown in its economy.

Canada:

  • Just eight months after distressed-debt investors gave Lightstream Resources Ltd. a lifeline amid the worst oil-slump in a generation, the energy producer is warning investors it may need another.
  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. today announced preliminary unaudited financial information for the fourth quarter 2015.

United States:

  • U.S. index futures fell, with stocks trading near their highest levels of the year, as investors considered the capacity of central banks to boost global growth.
  • Foxconn Technology Group is delaying finalization of its deal for Sharp Corp. to get a clear understanding of the Japanese company’s performance in the current quarter, increasing the chances an agreement won’t be reached this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
  • For all the hand-wringing by Federal Reserve officials over the strengthening dollar, foreign-exchange traders are signaling the currency’s two-year ascent is running out of steam.

International:

  • Declines in commodity and energy producers dragged European stocks down from a two-month high, after the Bank of Japan refrained from boosting its record monetary stimulus.
  • Britain’s currency fell the most in three weeks versus the dollar as investors braced for a budget at which fiscal tightening is anticipated, a Bank of England statement that they’ll peruse for indications about the interest-rate path and a Federal Reserve gathering where, speculation is building, officials will signal a boost to U.S. borrowing costs later in 2016.
  • Volkswagen AG was sued for 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) over the cover-up of its polluting diesel engines, its biggest legal challenge in Germany to date after a wave of lawsuits in the U.S. centered on the scandal.
  • Asian stocks retreated for the first time in four days after the Bank of Japan pledged to maintain its stimulus program, with commodity producers and financial shares leading the decline.

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