November 13th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Housing starts in the US were up 1.06M in month-over-month terms, slightly below estimates.
  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the US were up 6.2% as of November 13th.
  • Construction output in the Eurozone was down 0.4% and up 1.8% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil rose from the lowest close in more than two months as U.S. industry data showed crude stockpiles declined in the world’s biggest consumer.
  • Gold traded near the lowest in more than five years as a report showed a pickup in U.S. consumer prices, strengthening bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as soon as next month. Platinum fell to a near seven-year low.

 

Canada:

  • Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. went public with its pursuit of Norfolk Southern Corp., wooing the U.S. company’s shareholders to get behind a deal that would create a transcontinental railroad.
  • Teck Resources Ltd. has announced 1,000 job cuts and a lower dividend, the latest moves by the diversified mining company to corral expenses as depressed commodity prices weaken its financial health. (Globe)
  • Canada’s Liberal government is reviewing all aspects of a potential Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, including a C$4.3 billion ($3 billion) fund for farmers who could be affected, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday.

United States:

  • Monsanto Co. is considering whether to begin another attempt to acquire Syngenta AG after state-owned China National Chemical Corp. made a bid for the world’s largest pesticide maker.
  • Lowe’s Cos. followed larger rival Home Depot Inc. in posting third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates, showing consumers remain willing to spend on sprucing up their houses.

International:

  • European stocks retreated as investors speculated that the strongest rally in six weeks went too far, with chemical and utilities companies sliding on merger-and-acquisitions news.
  • Barclays Plc is expected to pay at least $100 million to settle an investigation by New York’s banking regulator into whether it abused the “last look” practice on its electronic currency-trading program, according to a person briefed on the matter.
  • A Dutch court Wednesday ruled that natural gas extraction from Europe’s largest deposit should be cut by another 18 percent as local residents sought to stop tremor-inducing production that’s damaging their houses.
  • Germany sold two-year notes with a record-low yield of minus 0.38 percent at an auction on Wednesday.
  • Traders snuffed out an early rally in Asian stocks, sending the benchmark index lower before the end of a Bank of Japan policy meeting.
  • China’s $2.4 trillion trust industry is looking for a new growth engine after the stock-market rout over the summer drove its first quarterly decline in assets under management since at least 2010
  • India’s cabinet today approved a plan to sell a 10 percent stake in Coal India Ltd. as part of a federal asset-sale program.

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