March 27th, 2017

Daily Market Commentary

 

 

 

Economic News:

  • The M3 Money Supply in the Eurozone was up 4.7% in year-over-year terms, slightly below estimates.
  • An IFO Business Climate survey in Germany resulted in a score of 112.3, above estimates.

Canada:

  • U.S. and Canadian plans to spend more than $1.1 trillion on infrastructure are unlikely to be lucrative enough to attract big global investors, according to one of the world’s biggest funds in the sector. U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have both discussed plans to use infrastructure banks to attract private capital and help offset the cost of funding public projects such as roads, bridges and hospitals. The banks would be part of $1 trillion promised by Trump and C$180 billion ($135 billion) by Trudeau for infrastructure in the coming years.
  • Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, according to a report from CBC News, a move that follows through on one of his Liberal Party’s campaign pledges.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures fell, signaling an expected decline when markets open after President Trump’s failure to pass a health-care bill on Friday undermined optimism he can enact growth policies that investors counted on.
  • The Pentagon is poised to review — and probably approve — a new helicopter from Lockheed Martin Corp. to transport heavy cargo for the Marine Corps in a program valued at as much as $29 billion. The Defense Acquisition Board has scheduled a March 30 meeting to review whether to approve low-rate production for the first 24 of a planned 200 King Stallion helicopters.

International:

  • European stocks fell, mirroring a drop in U.S. index futures, as the failure to pass U.S. health-care legislation Friday sparked fresh doubts over the ability of U.S. President Donald Trump’s party to cut taxes and boost infrastructure spending.
  •  Another week, another round of gently improving economic data in the euro area — with one likely exception. While confidence is on the rise and output in manufacturing and services motoring along, inflation is set to slow for the first time in almost a year as energy-price effects gradually peter out. The latest rush of numbers due from across the 19-nation region will probably bear out Mario Draghi’s view that the European Central Bank’s actions have largely been a “success”.
  • Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. won European Union approval for a $77 billion merger, overcoming regulators’ concerns with hefty concessions, including the sale of large parts of DuPont’s global pesticide business.
  • Gauges measuring expected stock swings in Asia climbed as shares across the region slid following a U.S. lead after the defeat of the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare on Friday.
  • China First Heavy Industries and Datang Telecom Technology Co. are among the 279 mainland stocks that MSCI Inc. is no longer considering this year for inclusion in its global benchmark indexes, removing a path to tap the $1.6 trillion in assets that track MSCI’s main emerging-markets gauge.
  •  China Southern Airlines Co. advanced to a seven-month high after saying it is in negotiations to sell a stake to American Airlines Group Inc., the world’s biggest carrier. The negotiations are over “a possible major strategic cooperation with American Airlines Inc. involving, among others, proposed issue of shares of the company and other business cooperation,” Asia’s largest airline by passengers said in an exchange filing Sunday.

*All sources from Bloomberg unless otherwise specified