Market Overview (05.11.2017)
by Aaron.J | Hans.S | Yilin.Z
Market Today
Indices
Commodities
Currency
Econ & Policy
Economic Indicators
Policy
Business News
Energy
Industrials
Consumers
Health Care
Financials
Information Tech
Telecommunication
Data Center
Equity
Bond
ETF Flow
Calendar
Economic Calendar
Market Today
S&P 500 (+0.1% at 2,399) Dow Jones (-0.2% at 20,943) NASDAQ (+0.1% at 6,129) U.S. stocks edged slightly higher in tepid trading Wednesday,as investors reacted to the unexpected firing of FBI director James Comey, which raised questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to build enough support on Capitol Hill to spearhead reforms.
FTSE 100 (+0.1% to 7,392) U.K. stocks were steady Thursday, as the pound fell after the Bank of England cut its economic growth outlook.
Nikkei 225 (+0.3% at 19,900) Equities in Asia closed mixed on Wednesday as investors digest the dramatic dismissal of FBI Director James Comey in the US and follow the inauguration of liberal candidate Moon Jae-in after his win in the South Korean presidential election.
US Dollar Index (DXY): The dollar firmed Thursday on the back of stronger than expected U.S. data. The was up 0.12% at 99.62 at 09:00 ET near three-week highs after a low of 99.37. Initial weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 236,000 in the latest week against a forecast rise to 245,000. The rose 0.5% in April fromMarch. A rise of 0.2% was forecast. The extended losses after the BoE left policy on hold. (DXY: -0.03% at 99.47)
EUR/USD: The was firm Thursday after the EC slightly raised its euro-zone 2017 growth forecast. In its spring outlook, the EC raised euro area GDP growth forecast to 1.7% from 1.6%. The forecast for2018 growth was 1.8%, unchanged from its winter economic outlook. (EUR/USD: 0.02% at 1.0869)
British Pound: The pound fell to the days lows against the dollar on Thursday after the leftinterest rates on hold at current record lows and warned that living standards will fall this year as the headwinds from Brexit mount. (GBP/USD: -0.45% at 1.288)
Japan Yen: islower in today’s trading, holding near 114.02, a loss of 0.23% from Wednesday’sNorth American close. The pair appears to be taking a breather following the strong run to the upside which has taken place since a bottom was established in mid-April. USD/JPY has moved higher with little interruption since that time, gaining more than 5%. (USD/JPY: -0.68% at 113.51)
Gold edged up on Thursday as the U.S. dollar weakened, although the prospect of a U.S. rate increase in June kept prices just above eight-week lows hit earlier this week. (Gold Prices: +0.34% at $1,221.47)
Oil World stocks held near all-time highs on Thursday, helped by a rebound in energy shares as oil prices rose after U.S. fuel inventories declined and Saudi Arabia cut supplies of crude to Asia more than expected. (Brent Crude Futures: +1.29% at $50.87 a barrel. WTI Futures: +1.37% at $47.98 a barrel)
Steel Iron ore futures in China tumbled more than 5 percent to a four-month low on Thursday, pressured by lean demand as the world's top steel producer sustains a crackdown against polluting industries that could limit output. (Shanghai Steel Rebar Futures: -2.2% at 2,990 yuan per tonne. Iron Ore Contract: -3.8% at 453 yuan tonne.)
Econ & Policy
Americas
U.S. producer prices rise more than forecast in April. Year-over-year,the (PPI)rose 2.5% in April, compared to expectations for a gain of 2.2% and following a2.3% increase in the preceding month. The , that excludes food and energy, advanced by 0.4% in April, higher than forecasts fora gain of 0.2% and compared to the prior month's unchanged reading.
US Initial jobless claims declined slightly to 236,000 in the week ending May 6th from 238,000 previously and compared with consensus forecasts of a figure around 245,000. The four-week moving average increased slightly to 243,500 from 243,000 previously. Continuing claims declined sharply to 1.918mn for the week endingApril 29th from a revised 1.979mn the previous week and this was the lowest reading since November 1988.
Philippine central bank maintains 2017, 2018 inflation forecasts. It maintained its average inflation forecast for 2017at 3.4 percent, and for 2018 at 3.0 percent, central bank managing direct or Francisco Dakila told a news conference.
The US Federal Government Budget recorded a surplus of $182.4bn for April following a deficit of $176.2bn the previous month. The surplus was above consensus expectations of $176bn and sharply higher than the $104.4bn recorded in April 2016.
Europe
Germany's Wholesale Price Index 0.3% vs. 0.1% forecast from 0.0% in the precedingmonth.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left interest rates on hold at 0.25%. The decision was in line with consensus forecastswith all participants expecting policy to be unchanged this month.
UKindustrial production declined 0.5% in March compared with expectations of a 0.4% decline on the month and the first-quarter increase washeld to 0.1%. The annual increase slowed to 1.4% from a revised 2.5% previouslyand compared with consensus forecasts of 2.4%.
UK Manufacturing output declined 0.6% on the month which held the3-month growth rate to 0.3%. There was also a decline in the year-on-year gain to 2.3% from a revised 3.0% previously, also below consensus expectations.
U.K. RICS house price balance 22% vs. 20% forecast from 22% in the preceding month.
The (RBNZ) kept a steady hand on monetary policy, as officials voted to keep interest rates at rock bottom in support of inflation and economic growth. Inits meeting on Thursday, the RBNZ held its official cash rate at 1.75%, where it has stood since November.
Asia and Pacific
Vehicle sales in China, the world's largest auto market, fell 2.2 percent to 2.1million in April, compared to a 4 percent rise in March. The drop was the sharpest since sales fell 5 percent in August 2015. Chinese auto sales fell inApril by the steepest in almost two years, as a tax increase on small-enginecars from the beginning of the year discouraged buyers.
Japan's BankLending 3.0% vs. 3.2% forecast from 3.0% in the preceding quarter; Japan's Current Account 1.73T vs. 1.73Tforecast from 2.29T in the preceding month.
Japan's Economy Watchers Current Index 48.1 vs. 47.9 forecast from 47.4 in the preceding month.
PolicyWhat's happening at the G7 finance gathering? Trade will not be on the agenda, according to the Italian Treasury, but G7 leaders will discuss it at the end of the month at a conference in Sicily. The meeting will instead focus on issues including international taxation, cyber security, better coordination of global financial institutions and ways to fight inequality.
Americas
Lula still has eyes on the presidency: Brazil's Lula da Silva vigorously defended himself during a court deposition yesterday, denying that he had a role in a monumental corruption scheme that involved oil giant Petrobras (NYSE:PBR). In a show of defiance, he repeated his intention to run for the presidency next year, thereby putting himself into a position where he would be immune from charges.
Europe
Bank Of England's 'Super Thursday': It's data deluge day in London. In addition to a press conference from Mark Carney, the Bank of England will release its monetary policy decision, the minutes from its last meeting and a quarterly inflation report. The central bank is expected to hold rates at 0.25% as a Q1 economic slowdown will likely persuade the majority of policymakers to stand pat.
More clashes over ECB stimulus: Mario Draghi faced a public grilling from Dutch lawmakers on Wednesday, underscoring mounting pressure for a policy change as the region's economy heats up. He was forced to justify the central bank's policy, particularly QE, transparency, and the future of the euro. Following the bruising exchange, the ECB President will head today to the G7 meeting in Bari.
EU ups eurozone growth outlook: Growth in the eurozone will be slightly stronger this year than previously forecast, the European Commission said, adding that some risks to the outlook have eased following the defeat of populist parties in France and the Netherlands. The institution sees the 19-nation economy expanding 1.7% this year - up from 1.6% forecast in February - and growing 1.8% in 2018.
Flynn subpoenaed in Russia probe: The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia, has subpoenaed Michael Flynn. According to NBC News, the SSCI requested documents related to the probe last month, but Flynn refused unless he was granted immunity. It's the first time the Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena since an inquiry into 9/11.
Business News
Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) first two styles of its solar roof - "black glass smooth" and "textured" - will be priced at about $21.85 per square foot. That's more expensive than a typical roof, but less pricey than a roof with traditional solar and back-up batteries. The product will come "with a warranty for the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first," Tesla wrote in a blog post.
IndustrialsBoeing (NYSE:BA) has suspended flight tests of its new 737 Max jetliner because of problems with its engine, though it still plans to deliver the first plane to its customer this month. The LEAP engines are made by CFM, a 50/50 joint venture between GE and France's Safran (OTCPK:SAFRY). Boeing has already secured 3,700 orders for the 737 Max and "will work closely to understand the root cause of the quality issue.
ConsumersWalt Disney's (NYSE:DIS) upcoming Dead Men Tell No Tales rolled out the red carpet in Shanghai today in a rare China premiere for a Hollywood blockbuster. According to website Box Office Mojo, the four previous Pirates of the Caribbean films, the most recent in 2011, have generated over $3.7B in worldwide ticket sales.
Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) CFO Jack Hartung told Jim Cramer: "Even before the [2015 E.coli] crisis, we were losing our edge in terms of what it takes to run a great restaurant, and we're getting that edge back," "We'd made things too complicated over the years." Chipotle is also raising menu prices again, hiking costs in NYC by 5% as the price of avocados continues to climb. CMG +29% YTD.
Aldi, already with 1,600 U.S. stores, has set a minimum target of selling groceries at a 21% discount to its U.S. rivals, including Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), CEO Jason Hart told Reuters. His strategy centers on adding more in-house brands and a massive expansion to further disrupt a U.S. grocery sector that has seen 18 companies go bankrupt since 2014.
HealthcareAetna (NYSE:AET) is quitting the last two states - Delaware and Nebraska - where it planned to sell personal health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in 2018. Aetna has now "completely exited the exchanges," the company said in a statement. Humana (NYSE:HUM) and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) have also pulled out of most of the government-subsidized individual health insurance market.
FinancialsBarclays, (NYSE:BCS) seeing off a shareholder rebellion, CEO Jes Staley has been re-elected to the board after apologizing over his recent mistakes, while shares closed almost 2% higher on the news. Not for long? Shortly afterwards it emerged that the bank will pay more than $97M to settle charges it overbilled clients at its asset management business.
Information TechnologySamsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) has named a new head of mobile marketing, as well as a China chief, as part of a long-delayed executive reshuffle following the arrest of its vice chairman for alleged bribery. The world's top maker of smartphones is widely expected to deliver record profits this year, but the absence of Jay Y. Lee has raised doubts about Samsung's future direction.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has announced the launch of a cloud registry for developers to train AI models, but it already sells similar technology to the biggest cloud companies to do just that. Does Nvidia plan to directly compete with Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft's Azure (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet's Google Cloud Platform (GOOG, GOOGL)?
Telecommunication ServicesVerizon (VZ) is buying Straight Path Communications (NYSEMKT:STRP) for $3.1B, after beating rival AT&T (NYSE:T) in an unusually intense bidding war, WSJ reports. Straight Path holds licenses to use high-frequency radio waves that some engineers think could form the backbone of next-gen 5G wireless networks. VZ +1.6%; STRP -10.6% premarket.
Data Center
Equity
S&P500
Dow Jones 30
Bond
World Bond Yield Curve
Sovereign Debt Movement
Sovereign 5Y Debt CDS
U.S. Municiple Bond
U.S. Investment Grade Bond
U.S. High Yield Bond
Emerging Market CDS
ETF Flow
Asset Class
Asset Class: Equity
Geography Regions
Geography Regions: Asia Pacific
Calendar
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