March 25th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly up 9.5%.
  • Durable Goods Orders in February were reportedly down 1.4% in February, lower than an estimated 0.4% increase.
  • Durable Goods Orders in the U.S., excluding transportation, were reportedly down 0.4%, below an estimated 0.3% increase.

Commodities:

  • Oil traded near a two-week high in New York as traders weighed the weaker dollar, which bolsters crude’s appeal to investors, against signs that a supply glut in the U.S. is expanding.
  • Gold declined from the highest price in more than two weeks after inflation showed signs of stirring in the world’s biggest economy, boosting prospects for an increase in U.S. interest rates. Silver and copper dropped.
  • Europe’s natural gas prices are poised to end the winter heating season at a five-year low as a surge in cargoes of chilled fuel eases concern about supply disruptions.

Canada:

  • Alberta’s Jim Prentice is poised to release one of the harshest budgets in a generation on Thursday, filled with spending cuts, new user fees and income-tax increases to fill a C$7 billion ($5.6 billion) budgetary hole sparked by plunging oil prices.
  • Canada’s automotive trade deficit topped $10-billion last year and threatens to deepen as more assembly plant closings loom and free-trade agreements with the European Union and South Korea take effect. (Globe)

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed amid corporate merger activity following the biggest decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in two weeks.
  • 3G Capital, the Brazilian private-equity firm, agreed to acquire Kraft Foods Group Inc. in partnership with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and merge it with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz.

International:

  • European stocks declined, after closing 3 points away from a record.
  • Airbus Group NV said it plans to sell shares in Dassault Aviation SA, cutting its holding in the maker of the Rafale fighter to about 27 percent and using the proceeds to fund growth.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index recovering Tuesday’s loss to head for a six-month high, as consumer staples companies led gains. Chinese shares halted the longest winning streak in nearly 23 years.
  • BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd., controlled by China’s fourth-largest lender, has started a sale process focused on attracting a Chinese buyer for its Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd. unit, people familiar with the matter said.

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