October 31st

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Personal Spending in the U.S. was reportedly down 0.2%, below estimates of a 0.1% rise.
  • Personal Income in the U.S. was reportedly up 0.2%, in month-over-month terms, below estimates of 0.3%.
  • The Personal Consumption Expenditure in the U.S. was reportedly up 0.1% and 1.4% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Brent crude headed for a sixth weekly loss, the longest decline since 2002, as OPEC boosted production to a 14-month high amid a global surplus. West Texas Intermediate was on track for its biggest monthly decline in more than two years.
  • Gold and silver fell in New York, slumping to the lowest since 2010, as the dollar strengthened after the bank of Japan unexpectedly boosted stimulus and the Federal Reserve ended asset purchases this week.
  • Asian traders are split on whether Saudi Arabia will deepen the crude price cuts that propelled oil into a bear market this month.

Canada:

  • British Columbia and Alberta are banding together to push the Canadian government to apply the same tax treatment to multibillion-dollar energy plants that benefit Ontario manufacturers.
  • Canada’s GDP shrank in August, an unexpected decline led by oil and gas extractors. Output shrank 0.1%, to an annualized $1.63 trillion.
  • Barrick Gold Corp., which attempted to merge with a rival this year, says it’s likely to become ‘boring’ as it seeks to improve its performance amid a faltering gold price.
  • Canada’s dollar fell the most in two weeks after data showed the economy contracted in August for the first time this year, adding to bets the central bank will lag behind the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures climbed, signalling equities may reach a new high and Nickel led most industrial metals higher before an official gauge of Chinese manufacturing.
  • Citigroup Inc. revealed that it’s facing a U.S. criminal probe into the bank’s foreign-exchange business and took a $600 million legal charge that forced it to restate third-quarter results.
  • LinkedIn Corp.’s addition of new businesses, such as news content and client management services for salespeople, lifted third-quarter sales and profit above analysts’ estimates. The shares soared as much as 14%.

International:

  • European stocks rose to a three-week high and gold and silver slumped to the lowest level since 2010 amid optimism the Bank of Japan’s stimulus will fill some of the gap left by the end of Federal Reserve bond buying.
  • Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s largest taxpayer-owned lender, had third-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates even as it set aside 400 million pounds ($639 million) for a currency rigging probe.
  • Britain’s biggest banks will be hit with a basic leverage ratio of just over 4% as regulators push on with plans to strengthen the financial system from shocks.
  • Russia’s central bank increased its benchmark interest rate more than forecast by economists, bringing it to the highest level since it was introduced 13 months ago. The ruble extended losses after the surprise move.
  • Asian stocks rose after the Bank of Japan unexpectedly boosted monetary stimulus and on the speculation that the country’s $1.2 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund will increase holdings of equities.
  • Samsung Group companies surged, led by the biggest three-day rally in Samsung Electronics Co. in six years, amid growing speculation of a shareholder-friendly restructuring at South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.
  • Sony Corp. reported a quarterly loss that was seven times greater than a year earlier as the company loses ground in the smartphone market to Apple Inc. and Chinese rivals.

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