September 3rd

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • MBA Mortgage Applications in the U.S. were reportedly up 0.2%.
  • The Redbook Index, which measures same-store sales growth in the U.S., was reportedly up 0.7% and 4.9% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • Retail Sales in the Eurozone were reportedly down 0.4% and up 0.8% in month-over-month and year-over-year terms, respectively.
  • The Markit Services PMI for the Eurozone was reported at 53.1, below estimates of 53.5.

Commodities:

  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose from the lowest in more than seven months as steps toward a cease-fire in Ukraine could lead to a revival of trade with Russia. Brent gained from the lowest close since May 2013.
  • Gold advanced for the first time in four days on speculation that prices near the lowest level since June will encourage purchases as investors assessed the strength of the U.S. economy and the outlook for borrowing costs.
  • Copper declined in London on speculation an investigation of the power grid in China, the world’s largest buyer of the metal, will curb demand.
  • Palladium declined to an almost two-week low in New York after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he agreed to a cease-fire with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Canada:

  • Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will probably extend the longest interest-rate pause since the 1950s today, as external threats to the world’s 11th largest economy outweigh signs of quicker output and inflation.
  • Pembina Pipeline Corp. is planning to spend $1.15 billion in a U.S. expansion to export Canadian propane to Asia and ship ethane from North Dakota to Alberta.
  • Crescent Point to buy conventional oil assets in southeast Saskatchewan, Manitoba from Lightstream Resources for C$328m; will also buy 44 net sections of undeveloped freehold interests valued at C$50m.
  • Baytex Energy Corp., a Canadian crude producer expanding in the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, plans more purchases after paying $1.8 billion for Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. to gain a foothold in the formation.

United States:

  • U.S. stock-index futures rose, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped from a record, as Russia discussed a cease-fire in Ukraine and as investors awaited data that may show the world’s largest economy is strengthening.
  • Nissan Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC vehicle sales in the U.S. last month rose more than analysts estimated, and the maker of Jeep sport-utility vehicles said industry-wide deliveries soared far beyond projections.

International:

  • European stocks climbed as Russia and Ukraine agreed on the steps needed for a truce, and a worse-than-forecast euro-zone purchasing managers’ index stoked speculation that the area’s central bank will increase stimulus.
  • LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA will relinquish its $7.5 billion holding in Hermes International SCA after a French court intervened to end a four-year battle over LVMH building a stake in the Birkin bag maker.
  • U.K. services growth unexpectedly accelerated in August, countering a slowdown in manufacturing and reinforcing the recovery’s dependence on domestic demand.
  • Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark index set for its highest close in a month, as reports showing faster growth in China’s service industries and U.S. manufacturing boosted optimism in the world’s biggest economies.
  • Emerging-market distressed debt had its worst month in more than a year in August amid banking turmoil in South Africa and Turkey, a coal-industry rout and the conflict in Ukraine.

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