May 30th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • The industrial product price index in Canada was down 0.5% in month-over-month terms, below estimates.
  • The Raw Material Index in Canada was up 0.7% in month-over-month terms, also below estimates.
  • The Consumer Price Index in Germany was up 0.3% and 0.1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil slid a third day as Canadian producers moved to resume output after wildfires and as OPEC delegates prepare to meet in Vienna to discuss production policy.
  • Bullion broke below $1,200 an ounce on Monday after losing more than $100 in less than a month as Federal Reserve policy makers land punch after punch by talking up the prospects for a U.S. interest rate rise and reinvigorating the dollar.

Canada:

  • Some of the world’s leading experts on climate change – including former NASA scientist James Hansen, and Tim Flannery, chief councilor of Australia’s Climate Commission and a world expert on climate change – have called on the Trudeau government to reject a massive liquefied natural gas project proposed for the Skeena region of Northern British Columbia.
  • Suncor Energy Inc. restarted oil-sands operations in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, an area in Canada that includes wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray. It’s a move that enables thousands to return to work.

United States:

  • The S&P 500 Index rose 2.3 percent last week for its biggest gain since March. Reports on housing and jobless claims topped estimates and data showed the U.S. economy grew more than previously forecast.
  • The price of bitcoin has recovered to its highest level in U.S. dollars since 2014, following a steep decline from more than $1,000 to less than $200. The rise has come as China has become the center of the bitcoin world, prompting a rush of entrepreneurs to the region.
  • Alcoa Inc. said joint-venture partner Alumina Ltd. is threatening to interfere with a plan to split the largest U.S. aluminum producer into two companies unless it grants concessions to the Australian firm.

 

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, after posting their best weekly gain since February, as investors considered the implications of a possible increase in U.S. interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said a hike is likely in the coming months.
  • Euro-area economic confidence rose for a second month in May as the European Central Bank prepares to present updated economic projections that could provide further clues about the impact of its stimulus program.
  • The Dutch government is seeking to raise as much as 1.32 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in an initial public offering of ASR Nederland NV as it begins to pare back its holding in the insurer that was nationalized during the financial crisis.
  • Most Asian stocks rose, led by Japan, as the yen weakened amid growing confidence that the U.S. economy is strengthening enough to handle higher borrowing costs as early as this summer.
  • Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group Co. is offering HK$34.5 billion ($4.4 billion) to buy out its Hong Kong-listed property unit in the biggest take-private deal on the exchange ever, as it seeks a higher valuation for the business on mainland stock exchanges.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to put off a planned sales tax increase for 2 1/2 years, senior officials from his ruling party and its coalition partner said Monday, as Abe prepares to end the speculation that has swirled for months.

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