September 17th

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Consumer Price Index in the U.S. was reportedly down 0.2% and up 1.7% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • MBA Mortgage applications in the U.S. were reportedly up 7.9%.
  • Construction Output in the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.4% in year-over-year terms.

Commodities:

  • West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest price in almost two weeks after OPEC’s secretary general said the group may cut crude-output targets next year. Brent was steady in London.
  • Gold traded little changed near an eight-month low in London as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting to gauge the outlook for borrowing costs.
  • Libya said it halted the Sharara field, its biggest oil producer, following a rocket attack at the connected Zawiya refinery, threatening almost 30% of the OPEC member’s production.

Canada:

  • Apache Corp., the oil producer under investor pressure to shed its international assets, is seeking to raise as much as $840 million from the sale of oil and gas projects in Alberta.
  • Canadian Natural Resources will be allowed to resume production at an oil-sands site in northern Alberta plagued by unexplained leaks of crude that seeped to the surface, the province’s chief energy regulator said.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities rose the most in almost a month, as investors awaited the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting to gauge the outlook for interest rates.
  • The cost of living in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in August for the first time in more than a year, showing inflation still is falling short of the Federal Reserve’s goal as policy makers meet.
  • Yahoo In. may rise 65% by the end of the year after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding goes public later this week, according to bets by structured-products buyers.

International:

  • An eight-day winless streak in European stocks ended today as optimism that central bankers around the world will continue to support economic recovery helped the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebound from a two-week low.
  • European car sales rose a 12th consecutive month as price cuts by automakers and demand for compact models from Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG led to the longest stretch of growth on record.
  • The battle over Scotland’s future in the U.K. entered the final day of campaigning with the pro- independence side saying it had the momentum to win the ballot and the “no” camp urging voters not to use it as a protest.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark index poised to end its longest losing streak since 2002, as China’s central bank joined its European counterpart in boosting liquidity.
  • Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund, the world’s largest, agreed to buy stakes in three prime U.S. office buildings for about $1.5 billion, extending a real estate shopping spree as it seeks higher-yielding assets.

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