March 6th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Housing Starts in Canada were reported at 156.3K, below estimates of 179K.
  • A Sentix survey of Investor Confidence in the U.S. was reported at 18.6, above estimates of 15.

Commodities:

  • Oil fell in London amid speculation a global oversupply may persist after China cut crude imports for a second month.
  • Global iron ore supplies are set to expand further as the world’s biggest producers press on with capacity expansions, raising shipments of the steel-making raw material into a market facing a record surplus and sinking prices.
  • Copper swung between gains and losses as the economic recovery in the U.S. helped push China’s trade surplus to a record while the Asian country’s imports of the metal fell by the most in four years.
  • Gold rose from a three-month low on speculation of increased demand in China. Platinum sank to the lowest level in more than five years.

.

Canada:

  • Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Ed Devlin is getting out of Canadian government bonds, and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is the reason why.
  • Canadian National Railway Co. is building a 1,500-foot (457 meter) long track to bypass a burning train that derailed Saturday in northern Ontario, while BNSF Railway Co. crews are working to reopen track in rural Illinois after a train carrying oil derailed three days ago.
  • Rogers Communications missed out on getting wireless spectrum in a government auction that favoured smaller companies. Telus, BCE and Quebecor and WIND Mobile, all won spectrum in the auction that netted the government $2.1 billion.

United States

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index completed the sixth year of its bull run.
  • General Motors Co. plans to announce Monday that it will buy back shares and settle with activist investor Harry J. Wilson, who will give up his request for a board seat after reaching an agreement with the automaker, people familiar with the matter said.
  • Public transit use in the U.S. jumped to the highest yearly level since 1956 last year, shrugging off a plunge in gasoline prices.
  • Apple rallied on news that the company will be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing AT&T.
  • Staples reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, hurt by a strong dollar and weak demand for computers and related accessories.

International:

  • European stocks declined after a five-week rally as concern resurfaced over Greece and the timing of an interest-rate increase in the U.S.
  • Greece’s provisional agreement with creditors to avert a default started to crack as European officials said the country’s latest proposals fell far short of what was put forward two weeks ago and Greek ministers floated the prospect of a referendum if their reforms are rejected.
  • London’s financial-services companies are set to step up hiring after the number of new jobs jumped 17 percent in February from a year ago, boosted by reviving global equities markets, according to a recruitment firm
  • The European Central Bank started buying government bonds under its expanded quantitative-easing plan designed to boost price growth in the region.
  • Chinese banks are preparing to take advantage of any easing of government restrictions to challenge the likes of Citic Securities Co. and China International Capital Corp. in the nation’s booming brokerage industry.
  • The Chinese regulator that accused Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. of peddling fake goods is seeking tighter e-commerce rules to curb the proliferation of counterfeits.

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