March 11th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly down 1.3%.
  • Industrial Production in the U.K. was reportedly down 0.1% and up 1.3%, in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.

Commodities:

  • Oil traded near the lowest close in almost two weeks in New York before government data that may signal the pace of supply growth in the U.S.
  • Aluminum pared gains as data signaled the slowest industrial growth rate in six years in China, the world’s largest metals consumer.

 

Canada:

  • Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Hastings Funds sign A$1.6557b loan with 9 banks to refinance Sydney Desalination Plant project.
  • Intertape Polymer Group said its fourth-quarter adjusted profit fell to $0.19 a share from $0.84 in the absence of an income-tax benefit recorded in the year-earlier period. The company guided for lower first-quarter revenue due to lower demand and a decline in average selling prices as a result of slumping resin and oil prices.
  • Canadian National Railway said its crews have now extinguished the fire that followed the derailment of a crude oil-carrying train in a remote area of northern Ontario over the weekend.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the S&P 500 Index may rebound after a surging dollar sparked the biggest equities selloff in more than two months.
  • Qualcomm plans to repurchase up to $10 billion of stock within about 12 months and is increasing its dividend 14%, touting the ‘major increase’ in its capital return program.
  • American Airlines said passenger traffic edged down 0.7% in February, but also affirmed its guidance for a key revenue metric and pre-tax margins.

International:

  • European stocks rose the most in more than six weeks, rebounding from a two-day loss, as the region’s central banks entered their third day of buying sovereign bonds and a weaker euro boosted exporters.
  • The pound climbed for a seventh day against the euro, reaching its strongest level in more than seven years, amid speculation Britain’s economy is increasingly diverging from that of the 19-nation currency bloc.
  • Ericsson AB is planning to cut as many as 2,200 positions in Sweden as part of a cost-reduction plan to improve profitability amid slowing sales.
  • Asian stocks fell after Chinese industrial output data showed the slowest start to a year since 2009 and amid speculation the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates.
  • China is drafting a proposal to transfer stakes in state-owned enterprises away from their regulator, as the Communist Party moves ahead with plans to make the country’s state sector more competitive and efficient.
  • Panasonic Corp. completed the biggest bond sale to Japan’s institutional investors since 2011 after the electronics maker forecast its best profit in seven years.

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