October 29th

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • Industrial Product Prices in Canada were reportedly down 0.4% in month-over-month terms, below estimates of a 0.1% drop.
  • The Raw Material Price Index for Canada dropped 1.8% in September, also far below estimates of a 0.9% drop.
  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly down 6.6%.
  • Mortgage Approvals in Great Britain were slightly below estimates for September, at 61.27K.
  • Net Lending to Individuals in Great Britain was listed at 2.7B pounds, slightly below estimates of 2.8B.
  • Retail Sales in Spain were slightly stronger than anticipated, reported at 1.1% growth year-over-year.

Commodities:

  • West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to the highest level in four days amid speculation that fuel demand is increasing in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent gained in London.
  • Gold traded little changed above a two-week low in London before the Federal Reserve ends a policy meeting and amid signs of improving physical demand.
  • Nickel advanced for a second day, heading for the biggest two-day advance in five months, on speculation that lower prices will boost consumer buying and reduce production of a lower-grade alternative.

Canada:

  • Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources Ltd reported a 68.5 per cent drop in quarterly earnings on Wednesday, hurt by lower prices for steel-making coal. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell to C$84-million ($75.26-million), or 14 Canadian cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from C$267-million, or 46 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. (Globe)
  • Sherritt International Corp., a nickel miner operating in Madagascar and Cuba, began cutting its workforce by about 10% following a decline in the price of the metal.
  • Cameco Corp., Canada’s largest uranium producer, cut its full-year revenue forecast because its trading unit will now sell less of the nuclear fuel than previously expected.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities rallied to a one-month high, as Facebook Inc. tumbled and as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy decision.
  • The numbers are in for Facebook Inc.’s acquisition of mobile-messaging application WhatsApp Inc. The social network paid $22 billion for a start-up that generated $10.2 million in revenue last year.
  • WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer by market capitalization, raised forecasts for profit and membership of its medical plans as earnings beat estimates.

International:

  • European stocks rose for a second day as investors weighed company earnings and awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy decision.
  • Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest lender, swung to a loss in the third quarter after setting aside 894 million euros ($1.1 billion) to cover the costs of settling investigations of past wrongdoing.
  • Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, rose 15 billion kroner ($2.3 billion) in the third quarter as bond gains offset the biggest drop in global equity markets in two years.
  • Asian stocks rose for a fourth day after Japanese industrial production jumped the most since January and companies from Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. to Nomura Holdings Inc. posted higher profit.
  • Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, posted a 4.6 percent decline in third-quarter sales as lower crude prices eroded earnings.

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