June 20th, 2014

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Consumer Price Index in Canada was reportedly up 0.5% and 2.3% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively. Both reports were above estimates.
  • The core CPI in Canada, which excludes the effects of energy and food prices, was reportedly up 0.5% and 1.7% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • Retail Sales in Canada were reportedly up 1.1% month-over-month, above estimates.
  • Retail sales except autos in Canada were reportedly up 0.7% in month-over-month terms, also above estimates.  

Commodities:

  • Gold fell from a two-month high in London on speculation that gains were exaggerated as investors sought to close out bearish positions after the Federal Reserve said it expects interest rates to stay low.
  • Copper rose the most in almost three weeks in London, heading for the first weekly gain in four, and zinc traded at a 16-month high on concern supply will remain tight amid shrinking inventories.

Canada:

  • Quebecor Inc.’s plan to take on Canada’s three big phone companies outside its home province is undoing a six-month rally in the bonds of the nation’s most leveraged wireless provider.
  • Inflation exceeded the Bank of Canada’s target last month for the first time in more than two years, an unexpected acceleration led by energy costs.
  • The Canadian dollar climbed to the strongest level since January, as an inflation figures climbed.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed after the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at a record yesterday.
  • Siemens AG and its partners improved their offer for Alstom SA, valuing the French company’s energy assets at $19.9 billion, and raising the stakes in the takeover battle with General Electronic Co.
  • Oracle Corp. posted fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales that missed analysts’ estimates amid efforts to remake itself into a cloud-computing provider and catch up to Salesforce.com Inc. and other rivals.

International:

  • European stocks rose for a second day, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index heading for a weekly gain, amid an increase in mergers-and-acquisitions activity and as investors awaited data on euro-area consumer confidence.
  • TSB Banking Group Plc surged as much as 15 percent in its first day of trading as Lloyds Banking Group Plc sold a 35 percent stake in the lender, more than initially planned, in an initial public offering.
  • Fiat SpA plans to sell holdings valued at about 602 million euros ($820 million), freeing up cash to invest in an expansion of its upscale brands.
  • Asian stocks fell from a six-year high as materials and technology companies led the regional benchmark index lower.
  • Chinese property trusts face record repayments next year, as the real-estate market cools, fuelling speculation among bond funds that more developers will collapse.