March 11th, 2016

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS:

  • Canadian Unemployment ticked up to 7.3%, slightly above estimates of 7.2%.
  • The Net Change in Employment in Canada was a loss of 2.3K jobs, despite an expected gain of 9K.
  • The US Import and Export Price Indices were down 6.1% and down 6% in year-over-year terms, respectively.

 

Commodities:

  • Gold dropped from a one-year high as gains in stocks and the dollar cut demand for a haven in the aftermath of more European Central Bank stimulus.
  • Refined copper stockpiles have roughly doubled in Shanghai since the start of this year, raising concerns about the strength of physical demand in China, the world’s biggest consumer.
  • Iron ore sank, adding to signs the record leap at the start of the week wasn’t justified given the global market’s poor fundamentals, with banks and even miners lining up to say the spurt was destined to fade.

Canada:

  • Four months after seeing its Keystone XL oil pipeline plans rebuffed, TransCanada Corp. may be ready to expand again in the U.S. — this time by buying instead of building lines. Canada’s second-largest pipeline operator has held talks with Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. about a potential takeover.
  • BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, is reducing spending on a potash mine in the Canadian prairies by about one-third amid the decline in global commodity prices.
  • Canadian department store operator Hudson’s Bay Co plans to invest 1 billion euros ($1.46-billion Canadian) in its German chain Kaufhof over the next five to seven years, its chief executive told German business daily Handelsblatt.

United States:

  • U.S. index futures rose in an indication stocks will trim their first weekly drop in four, mirroring a global equity rally as investors reassessed stimulus measures in Europe.
  • Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has decided it would keep London Stock Exchange Group Plc’s namesake equity market if it successfully buys the parent company, according to people familiar with the matter, a reversal of strategy from the last time ICE purchased a European stock exchange.

International:

  • Traders reassessing European Central Bank stimulus sent the region’s equities higher, erasing losses that came after President Mario Draghi signaled the end of interest-rate cuts.
  • Deutsche Bank AG, which runs Europe’s biggest investment bank, cut its bonus pool by 11 percent after rising legal expenses hurt earnings last year and said volatility in financial markets means the first quarter may be challenging.
  • Asian stocks climbed in choppy trading as investors assessed the European Central Bank’s fresh stimulus measures. Financial and technology shares led gains as markets closed higher across the region.
  • China’s biggest energy company joined India in seeking to renegotiate long-term liquefied natural gas supply contracts amid a global glut that’s driving spot prices to the lowest in more than five years.

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