September 2nd, 2016
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- Labor Productivity in Canada was reportedly down 0.3% in quarter-over-quarter terms.
- The Unemployment Rate in the US was quoted at 4.9%, slightly above estimates.
- Average hourly earnings were reportedly up 2.4% in year-over-year terms.
- The Baker Hughes US Oil Rig Count was quoted at 407, up one from the month prior.
Commodities:
- Gold headed for a second weekly decline ahead of a key U.S. payrolls report that’s expected to give investors direction on the Federal Reserve’s tightening path.
- Oil snapped four days of declines as Vladimir Putin said he’d like Russia and OPEC to reach an output freeze while exempting Iran as it raises production to pre-sanctions levels.
Canada:
- Canadian stocks rose the most in three weeks, rebounding from the lowest level in almost a month, as raw-materials producers rallied with the price of precious metals as investors cut the odds for higher U.S. interest rates.
- Canadian small-cap oil and gas stocks are poised to outperform U.S. peers as their moves to cut costs and lower debt begin to gain traction with analysts and investors.
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a 50 percent stake in a Canadian office portfolio from Oxford Properties Group for about C$1.18 billion ($900 million), one of the country’s largest property transactions this year.
- Investors flocking to Canadian bonds may be making a riskier bet than they thought. The share of government revenue from housing has reached the highest level since the 1990s, according to National Bank of Canada, just as the market shows signs of cooling.
United States:
- When it comes to natural gas, Exxon Mobil Corp. believes in playing the long game. As competitors continue to flood the world market with a liquefied form of the fuel, depressing prices, Exxon is heeding the advice of forecasters scanning a quarter-century beyond the current glut. Their view: LNG demand will rise 1.6 percent a year through 2040, more than double the rate for crude oil.
International:
- European stocks rose as investors speculated that today’s U.S. jobs report will show continued improvement in the world’s biggest economy without advancing the case for an immediate rise in interest rates.
- Repsol SA, Spain’s largest oil company, is weighing a sale of the Papua New Guinea gas exploration assets it acquired through the purchase of Talisman Energy Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
- A U.K. construction index surged in August from a seven-year low as the building industry showed signs of stabilizing following the shock inflicted by the Brexit vote.
- Asian stocks fluctuated in a narrow range as investors avoided taking on risk before key U.S. payrolls data that may provide hints on the path of interest rates in the world’s largest economy. U.S. stock-index futures were little changed.
- China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said conventional monetary policy, along with unconventional measures such as bond buying, are no longer proving effective in other economies, as he called for more fiscal policy support for his own economy.
- Samsung Electronics Co. recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because of a faulty battery and announced a global replacement program, days before archrival Apple Inc. is set to unveil its newest iPhones.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.