July 21st 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was reported at 0.12
  • The Producer Price Index in Germany was reportedly flat and down 0.7% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively. Both figures were in line with estimates.

Commodities:

  • Brent swung between gains and losses amid speculation that supplies from Russia, the world’s biggest energy exporter, will be unaffected by the downing of a Malaysian Air flight. West Texas Intermediate fell.
  • Gold gained in London, after a first weekly loss in seven, as investors weighed tension in Ukraine and Gaza against the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates. Palladium held below a 13-year high.
  • Nickel extended drops to a three-week low after Indonesia resumed some exports of metal ore concentrates and as stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange surged to a record.

Canada:

  • Encana Corp. is preparing to sell its Deep Panuke offshore project in Nova Scotia later this year, according to people familiar with the matter, as Canada’s largest natural gas producer shifts production toward more oil. Encana is working with financial advisers as it explores a sale, which may raise $1 billion to $2 billion.
  • Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP is asking Canadian regulators to intervene to allow it to study land in Burnaby, British Columbia, where it faces opposition to the C$5.4 billion ($5 billion) expansion of its Trans Mountain oil pipeline.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures fell, after the biggest Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rally since April, as international condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin grew following the downing of a passenger jet in Ukraine.
  • Google Inc. is among several technology companies considering a plan that uses pay-phone locations to give New Yorkers free wireless Internet access.

International:

  • European stocks fell, after posting a weekly gain, as investors weighed earnings and watched the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.
  • OAO Severstal, the Russian steelmaker controlled by billionaire Alexey Mordashov, agreed to sell its U.S. plants to Steel Dynamics Inc. and AK Steel Holding Corp. for $2.33 billion, marking its exit from the country.
  • China’s stocks fell for the third time in four days on concerns corporate earnings will disappoint and new share sales may divert funds from existing equities.
  • Chine Brokerages, undeterred by the worst performance among the world’s major stock markets, are seeking to raise more than $6.2 billion from IPOs, as capital constraints squeeze operations.
  • Chine will revive mortgage-backed debt sales this week after a six-week hiatus, as the government extends help to homebuyers in a flagging property market.