June 17th, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Building permits in the U.S. were reportedly up 0.991M in month-over-month terms, below estimates of 1.055M.
  • Housing Starts in the U.S. were reportedly up 1.001M in month-over-month terms, slightly below estimates of 1.050M.
  • The CPI in the U.S. was reported at 0.4% and 2.1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively. Both figures were above estimates.

Commodities:

  • Brent crude fell for a second day on signs violence in Iraq may not affect the nation’s oil supply. West Texas Intermediate dropped amid speculation that gains to a nine-month high last week were excessive.
  • Gold fell from a three-week high in London on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will ease monetary stimulus after a two-day policy meeting that starts today. Silver also declined.
  • Copper gained for a third session amid speculation that demand will stabilize in China and the U.S., the world’s largest metals consumers.
  • Iraq’s oil exports from its southern terminals in the Persian Gulf are poised to surge at a time when fighting has plunged the country’s north into chaos and Islamist militias are advancing toward Baghdad.

Company News:

 

Canada:

  • WestJet Airlines Ltd. has only been flying across the Atlantic for two days and the route is already in the black, paving the way for an expansion without jeopardizing 36 quarters of profit.
  • Canadian realtors recorded their biggest sales gain in almost four years last month, the Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday, as the industry rebounds from the impact of a difficult winter.
  • Precision Drilling said it has agreed to sell certain assets from its trucking operations to Aveda Transportation and Energy Services. Aveda, an oilfield hauling company, said it expects to acquire rig-moving equipment, including trucks and tractors, for $24 million.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities gained for two days, as investors awaited housing-starts data before the Federal Reserve begins its monetary-policy meeting.
  • Medtronic Inc.’s deal to buy Covidien Plc will make the medical device maker No. 1 or No. 2 in six of the top 10 categories for hospital purchases. The U.S. company known mostly for developing sophisticated devices that shock the heart into beating properly is now becoming a Dublin-based generalist.
  • Russia faces a dilemma: it still needs Exxon Mobil Corp., Halliburton Co. and BP Plc to maintain output from Soviet-era oil fields and develop Arctic and shale reserves. Russia will require Western companies to provide the modern drilling and production gear — and techniques such as hydraulic fracturing — that are essential to unlocking its $8.2 trillion worth of barrels still underground.

International:

  • European stocks were little changed, paring earlier gains, amid growing concern over tension in Iraq.
  • Siemens AG said its joint bid with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for Alstom SA’s energy assets is worth 14.2 billion euros ($19.3 billion), as the German manufacturer competes with an offer from General Electric Co.
  • Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, is selling most of its 23 percent stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd., raising about $5 billion in Australia’s biggest energy deal.
  • Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, led by the biggest drop in a month for Chinese shares, after foreign direct investment in the world’s second-largest economy unexpectedly declined.
  • Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 beat Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox One in U.S. console sales in May, extending its lead for a fifth straight month.
  • Kisan Choksey, chairman of his own securities company in India, says he has ‘never been so bullish and confident in his life’ concerning the recent bull market in India.