July 2nd, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly down 0.2%.
  • The ADP Employment Change in the U.S. was reported at 281K, above estimates of 200K.
  • GDP in the Eurozone was reportedly up 0.2% and 0.9% in quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Producer Price Index in the Eurozone was reportedly down 0.1% and down 1% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Brent crude fell to its lowest intraday level in almost three weeks amid signs that rebels in eastern Libya may reopen the country’s largest oil port, which they seized a year ago. West Texas Intermediate slipped before U.S. supply data.
  • Gold held near a three-month high as investors weighed a weaker dollar against speculation the metal’s advance will spur traders to sell.
  • Copper traded near a 16-week high in London before a private report projected to show hiring accelerated in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.

Canada:

  • CAE won series of contracts valued at about C$110 million to provide range of training systems, services for global defence customers. Contracts include training system and services for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, upgrade to visual systems on German Air Force’s Eurofighter simulators, KC-135 boom operator weapon systems trainer for undisclosed international customer.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after benchmark equity gauges closed at record levels yesterday, as investors awaited reports on employment and factory orders.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is within reach of surpassing 17,000 for the first time, rallying along with small caps and transportation stocks in a pattern that chart analysts consider bullish.
  • A single bidder bought a large cache of bitcoins at an U.S. government auction, part of a larger pool of the virtual currency seized from the Silk Road website.

International:

  • European stocks advanced, following yesterday’s biggest gain in almost two months, as investors awaited reports on U.S. jobs and factory orders. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rallied.
  • BNP Paribas SA says the $8.97 billion fine for U.S. sanctions violations won’t disrupt its dividend or growth plans. France’s biggest bank, facing a yearlong ban on certain transactions in dollars as part of the settlement, remains committed to increasing sales by at least 10 percent by 2016.
  • London home prices jumped the most in 27 years in the second quarter as Nationwide Building Society warned that Bank of England measures to cool the U.K. property market won’t stem further gains in the short term.
  • Telefonica SA won European Union approval to merge its German unit with Royal KPN NV’s E-Plus after it pledged to bolster smaller virtual network operators and divest spectrum, the European Commission said. Telefonica must sell as much as 30 percent of the merged carrier’s network capacity to one or several virtual operators.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the regional index extending gains from a six-year high, after reports showing manufacturing expansion in the world’s two biggest economies sent U.S. equity gauges to records.
  • Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second biggest maker of building and mining equipment, said sales in China are falling more steeply than anticipated, joining larger peer Caterpillar Inc. in flagging fraying Asian demand.