July 13th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

• The Bank of Canada elected to hold their key interest rate steady at 0.5%, as expected.
• MBA Mortgage Applications in the US were up 7.2% in July.

 

Commodities:

• Oil fell after the biggest gain in three months as U.S. industry data showed the nation’s crude stockpiles increased, adding to concerns about oversupply.
• Gold climbed, snapping a two-day loss, as investors took advantage of a decline to boost positions even as global equities extended an advance. Silver in China rose to its highest level in almost three years.
• Oil production from the Middle East has climbed to a record while U.S. output slumps, the International Energy Agency said, in a sign that OPEC’s strategy of defending market share is succeeding.

Canada:

• Canadian stocks rose to the highest in 11 months, led by energy producers as crude surged amid prospects for more stimulus in major economies.
• Lightstream Resources Ltd., a Canadian energy company struggling to repay creditors, is proposing a debt-for-equity swap that would see its top-ranked bondholders take majority ownership.

United States:

• U.S. stocks are setting new marks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its first record in 13 months, joining the S&P 500 Index, which extended its all-time high after surpassing the previous record on Monday.
• Railroad shipments are falling at the fastest pace since 2009, employees are getting furloughed and profits probably fell for the fifth straight quarter. Yet for investors the worst may already be over.
• Walt Disney Co. will receive an estimated $267 million in tax rebates over 20 years from Anaheim, California to build a new luxury hotel next to its Disneyland theme park.

International:

• European stocks rose for a fifth day, inching closer to erasing losses since the Brexit vote. Investors are turning their focus to earnings reports, with Burberry Group Plc up 2.2 percent after posting first-quarter retail sales that beat analysts’ estimates.
• Accor SA, Europe’s biggest hotel operator, will separate its HotelInvest unit and plans to eventually sell a majority stake in the subsidiary to free up funds for the parent company to expand and improve existing lodgings.
• When Theresa May takes office on Wednesday, her most-watched act as U.K. prime minister will be naming a Brexit Czar. Extricating the U.K. from the European Union will require finesse and force and whoever gets the job will need to be unswervingly loyal to the new leader and also have been a backer of the “Leave” campaign.
• Asian stocks climbed, with the regional benchmark index heading toward its biggest three-day rally since April, as Japanese shares erased their Brexit losses amid signs the government will add more stimulus
• China, the world’s biggest producer and user of refined copper, boosted imports to a record in the first six months of the year as a credit boom and property rebound increased demand.
• Japan’s biggest bank is quitting its role as one of the 22 primary dealers that underwrite auctions of the nation’s bonds, the first financial institution to withdraw since the central bank’s introduction of negative interest rates this year caused yields to tumble below zero.

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