March 1st, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

 

Economic News:

  • The Bank of Canada announced that it would hold its key interest rate at 0.5%.
  • The US ISM Manufacturing PMI was quoted at 57.7, above estimates.
  • Personal Income in the US was up 0.4% in month-over-month terms, above estimates.
  • The unemployment rate in Germany was unchanged at 5.9%.

Canada:

  • Canada’s first exports of liquefied natural gas may soon be heading overseas — from a port in Louisiana. A year ago, Cheniere Energy Inc. built an LNG export terminal along Louisiana’s coast and became the only company shipping U.S. shale gas by tanker. Now it’s looking for supplies to send abroad from as far off as the Montney shale play, straddling Canada’s Alberta and British Columbia provinces.
  • The value of Canadian energy companies versus their U.S. counterparts is at the lowest in 16 years as higher-cost oil sands producers fail to attract as much investor interest as companies south of the border. Talk of a border tax being considered by the Trump administration isn’t helping.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose as investors assessed comments by Federal Reserve officials that signaled the central bank may increase borrowing costs as soon as this month. The S&P 500 benchmark fell 0.3 yesterday, dragged down by consumer discretionary stocks as well as industrial and telecommunications shares
  • During his first major address to Congress Tuesday, President Donald Trump backed a proposal that has split the Republican party: giving Americans tax credits to buy coverage. Trump’s health-care remarks, midway through the hour-long speech, offered few new policy details but embraced a plan put forward by House Speaker Paul Ryan.

International:

  • European stocks rose as increasing prospects for a Federal Reserve rate hike this month boosted lenders, while robust factory data from China spurred a rebound in mining shares.
  • Japan led Asian stocks higher after hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials bolstered investor confidence and U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress offered no surprises.
  • Foxconn Technology Group will begin construction this month on a $9 billion display plant in southern China, as billionaire founder Terry Gou makes a big bet on demand for giant-sized TV screens in healthcare and homes.
  • While the MSCI China Index has outperformed the similar global equity index this year, returning 10.8 percent versus 5.4 percent, skepticism among global buyers of exchange-traded funds has contributed to outflows from China-focused funds over the last three years until the past month.

 

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified