October, 25th 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

 

 

  • Asian stocks climbed after U.S. economic data generated optimism about the health of the world’s largest economy, while Japan’s Topix index rose as the yen weakened against the dollar.
  • European stocks were little changed after a rally in commodity producers was tempered by losses in banks.

Commodities:

 

  • Metals: Gold: 1268.97 (+$4.53, +0.36%), Silver: 17.74 (+$0.15, +0.84%); Copper: 2.1380 (+2.10%); Zinc: 1.0732 (+2.30%)
  • Energy: Crude: 50.80 (+0.55%); Brent: 51.67 (+0.41%); Nat Gas: 2.85 (+0.81%)
  • Oil climbed with OPEC’s secretary-general set to visit Baghdad on Tuesday for talks aimed at resolving a deal on output after Iraq said it should be exempt from planned cuts.
  • Gold rose as investors weighed demand from India, the biggest user after China, before its Diwali festival that can lead to increased buying.

 

Canada:

 

  • Canadian stocks slid back from a five-day rally on Monday as a drop in commodities prices pressured oil and gold companies.
  • The Canadian dollar erased losses after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said the central bank is taking a wait-and-see approach to dealing with the country’s economy.
  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund, said it invested $375 million in CapitaLand Ltd.’s latest China property fund.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose, after equities reached a two-week high, as earnings reports help investor confidence in corporate America.
  • Merck & Co.’s third-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates, helped by better-than expected sales of the vaccine Gardasil and the antibiotic Cubicin.
  • Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge several individuals and confiscate their property over the alleged looting of Venezuela’s state oil company in what may amount to one of the biggest asset seizures in U.S. history.
  • The Procter & Gamble Company reported first quarter fiscal year 2017 net sales of $16.5 billion, unchanged versus the prior year. Organic sales increased three percent.

International:

 

  • Prime Minister Theresa May’s government gave the green light to a 16 billion-pound ($20 billion) expansion of London’s crowded Heathrow airport.
  • Julius Baer Group Ltd., DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and LGT Bank are considering bids for ABN Amro Group NV’s private-banking business in Asia.
  • China’s overnight money rate climbed to the highest level in 18 months, fueled by capital outflows as the yuan weakened to a six-year low. The one-day repurchase rate, a gauge of interbank funding availability, jumped 17 basis points, the most since February, to 2.41 percent, weighted average prices show.
  • Kyushu Railway Co. shares rose on their first day of trading in Tokyo after Japan’s government raised 416 billion yen ($4 billion) selling its entire stake in an initial public offering.
  • Syngenta AG sought to allay investor concern about a drawn-out regulatory process for its $43 billion takeover by China National Chemical Corp., saying it’s confident the deal will get done.
  • Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA plans to cut 2,600 jobs, close 500 branches and sell units and bad debt.
  • Novartis AG, Europe’s second-biggest drugmaker by sales, said it’s looking for acquisitions that cost between $2 billion and $5 billion to bolster its position in areas including cancer and the development of copycat medicines.
  • Dow Chemical Co.’s chief executive officer said the $59 billion merger with DuPont Co. may be delayed until February from a planned closing late this year, as European antitrust officials take more time to consider potential competition issues in pesticides and crop seeds.

 

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