September 4th, 2015

Daily Market Commentary

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Net Change in Employment in Canada was listed at 12K, far above estimates of -4.5K.
  • The participation rate in Canada was quoted at 65.9%, slightly above estimates.
  • The Unemployment rate in Canada was listed at 7%, up from 6.8%.
  • The U.S. Unemployment Rate ticked down to 5.1% from 5.3%.
  • The U.S. Participation Rate held steady at 62.6%.
  • Average hourly earnings for the U.S. were up 0.3% in month-over-month terms, slightly above estimates.
  • Nonfarm Payrolls were up 173K, below estimates of 220K.

Commodities:

  • Oil prices fell on Friday, pushing benchmark North Sea Brent Crude down towards $50 a barrel, after a cut in European growth forecasts heightened worries over the outlook for demand at a time of huge oversupply. (Reuters)
  • Gold eased on Wednesday as a rebound in stocks and the dollar arrested a four-day rise, with uncertainty over the timing of a looming U.S. rate hike limiting price moves ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

Canada:

  • BlackBerry Inc. announced its largest acquisition in company history Friday morning, a $425 million cash deal to buy rival Good technology of Sunnyvale, California. (The Globe)
  • Canada’s economy unexpectedly added jobs in August, though the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in a year as more people were looking for work, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday. (The Globe)

United States:

  • US stock futures are falling, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and S&P all nearly 1% lower. Global markets were also weaker. (CNN)
  • The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.1% , about half of the 10% level hit during the recent recession. (CNN)

 

International:

  • The European Central Bank on Thursday cut its forecasts for Eurozone GDP growth this year and next, pointing the finger squarely at falling demand from China and other emerging economies. The ECB said it could increase its money printing program, and that sent the euro sharply lower. It recovered slightly Friday to trade 0.3% firmer against the dollar. (CNN)
  • Asian markets ended the session down. Chinese markets remain closed until Monday due to holiday. (CNN)

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