March 24th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Consumer Price Index in the U.S. was reportedly up 0.2% and flat in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in U.S. general merchandisers, was reportedly up 1.1% and 2.8% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,191.50/oz, after dropping as much as 0.3% earlier Tuesday.
  • Oil rose as the dollar weakened for a third day, making commodities priced in the U.S. currency more attractive to investors.

Canada:

  • Gold Fields has emerged as a contender in the potential A$1b auction of Barrick Gold’s Cowal mine in NSW and a stake in a Papua New Guinea mine, AFR reports, citing unidentified people familiar.
  • Canadian energy companies are trading at record valuations, signalling their shares haven’t caught up to the reality of crude oil’s continued decline.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating equities will rebound, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined on Monday.
  • The banking sector has some strength behind it this morning, as shares in Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are pushing forward in pre-market trading. (CNN)
  • Shares in Facebook could be on the move Tuesday after the New York Times reported that the social media giant plans to host news websites’ content directly on its pages, allowing users to read stories on Facebook instead of clicking through to external sites. (CNN)

International:

  • European stocks climbed after data showed euro-area business activity expanded faster than forecast.
  • UBS Group AG is forecasting a 10 percent rally in South Korea’s benchmark stock index this year as companies poised to double their dividend payouts draw funds away from the bond market.
  • HSBC Holdings Plc, BNP Paribas SA and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc must conduct top-to-bottom rewrites of plans showing how they can be safely unwound in bankruptcy before resubmitting the living wills to U.S. regulators.
  • A Germanwings Airbus A320 plane carrying at least 148 people crashed Tuesday in a mountainous region of south-eastern France. French President Francois Hollande said no survivors are expected.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark heading for a six-day advance, as health-care companies led gains. China’s Shanghai Composite Index capped its longest winning streak since 1992.
  • A Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to an 11-month low in March, suggesting more stimulus may be needed to bolster factories in the world’s second-largest economy.
  • Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., the first of the nation’s biggest lenders to report fourth-quarter earnings, posted an unexpected decline in profit as net fee income fell and bad-loan provisions swelled.
  • Citic Ltd., China’s biggest conglomerate, said a “root-and-branch” review of its business operations is starting with an investigation into how to unlock value from land portfolios held by two units.

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