April 15th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • A Bank of Canada interest rate decision resulted in steady interest rates.
  • Industrial production in the U.S. was reportedly down 0.6% in month-over-month terms, below estimates of a 0.3% drop.
  • Capacity utilization in the U.S. was reported at 78.4%, below estimates slightly.

Commodities:

  • Oil advanced for a fifth day as Iran joined Libya in calling for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce production.
  • Gold held near a two-week low as the dollar strengthened and data showed China’s economic expansion slowed.
  • Copper traded near a three-week low as data showing an economic slowdown in China raised concern that demand will decline from the world’s top metals user.

Canada:

  • Fairfax Plans to Sell 29.9% Stake in Brit Insurance to OMERS. OMERS to pay $4.30 per share for stake, same price as Fairfax is paying to acquire Brit, Fairfax says in statement.
  • Ottawa-based Shopify Inc. announced on Wednesday it has filed documents for a proposed public offering in Canada and the United States, after months of industry speculation.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures advanced as investors scrutinized earnings reports.
  • Delta Airlines said Wednesday that it planned to cut back on international flights by 3% during the last three months of the year. It will target countries hurt most by the volatility in the currency and commodity markets this year. The company said that there will be a 15% to 20% reduction in service from Japan, 15% reduction to Brazil, 15% to 20% reduction to Africa, India, and the Middle East, and suspension of service to Moscow.(CNN).

International:

  • Commodity producers led European stocks higher before Mario Draghi discusses monetary policy.
  • The European Union escalated its four-year-old probe into Google Inc., accusing the Internet giant of abusing its dominance of the search-engine market and starting a new investigation into its Android mobile-phone software.
  • BNP Paribas SA won a government waiver that lets affiliates continue to operate as asset managers in the U.S., a function that remained in doubt after the French bank admitted violating American sanctions against Iran and other nations.
  • Nokia Oyj agreed to buy Alcatel-Lucent SA in an all-stock deal valued at 15.6 billion euros ($16.6 billion) to create the world’s largest supplier of equipment that powers mobile-phone networks.
  • Asia stocks fell, with the regional benchmark poised to snap its longest winning streak since December 2013, after China posted the slowest economic growth in six years.
  • Samsung Electronics Co. created a standalone team of about 200 employees working exclusively on screens for Apple Inc. products as the world’s biggest technology companies strengthen business ties, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

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