March 30th, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

 

Economic News:

  • The Price of Raw Materials in Canada were up 1.2%.
  • Annualized GDP in the US for Q4 was quoted at 2.1%, slightly above estimates.
  • Consumer Confidence in the Eurozone was quoted ate -5, in line wiht estiamtes.
  • The Consumer Price Index in Germany was reportedly up 1.6%, below estimates.
  • The Unemployment Rate in Japan was quoted at 2.8%, down from 3%.

Canada:

  •  Canadian stocks closed higher, buoyed by crude producers as oil rose to a three-week high. The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 59 points or 0.4 percent to 15,657.63 after data from the Energy Information Administration showed a decline in U.S. fuel supplies last week. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.1 percent to $49.40, pushing the energy index up 1.1 percent.
  • Cenovus Energy Inc. will double its reserves and production by buying Canadian holdings from ConocoPhillips for C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion), the latest sale of energy assets in that country by international companies stung by falling oil prices.
  • Lululemon Athletica Inc. plummeted as much as 18 percent in late trading after the yogawear company’s forecast missed estimates, renewing concern that demand for athletic gear is wavering. The company expects earnings of $2.26 to $2.36 a share this year, well below the $2.56 projected by analysts.

United States:

  • U.S. stocks edged higher on the third slowest trading day of the year as investors assessed economic data and continued to weigh the likelihood of legislative reform in the Trump administration.
  • California Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders proposed a plan to raise taxes and levy new fees to pay the bulk of $52.4 billion in transportation projects over 10 years.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed as investors assessed the trajectory of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases in 2017 and studied the U.S. administration’s plans to proceed with its tax and investments agenda.
  • As they guided Europe’s largest oil companies through the industry’s worst slump in two decades, the bosses of Royal Dutch Shell Plcand BP Plc had a simple message for investors: we’ll protect the dividend at all costs. Not everyone is convinced they’ll be able to keep their word. Even after they raised billions of dollars by cutting costs, selling assets and adding debt, cash is pouring out of both companies in the form of hefty shareholder dividends.
  • Asian equity investors continued to look to the U.S. for guidance as most markets in the region fell ahead of data that could give clues to the sustainability of gradual rates increase in the world’s biggest economy. Chinese shares fell for a fourth day amid tightening money supply before the quarter-end.
  • PetroChina Co.’s profit fell 78 percent to the lowest on record as the energy price crash punished the country’s biggest oil and gas producer for a third year. Net income dropped to 7.86 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), the Beijing-based company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday.
  • Posco, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, posted its biggest quarterly operating profit in almost five years, signaling a healthy start to 2017 for global producers after an industry rebound. Operating income was 1.2 trillion won ($1.07 billion) through March, up from 659.8 billion won a year earlier.
  • Toshiba Corp. shareholders approved the sale of its memory chips division to cover costs resulting from the Westinghouse bankruptcy, but not before railing at management and lamenting the downfall of a Japanese icon.

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified