Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Thursday April 14, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were also mixed, but with gains outweighing losses.* China expected to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for the country's banks* United States 10-year treasuries yields have eased, suggesting the recent reaction to US Federal Reserve rhetoric may have...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved lower following release of the March Retail Sales report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.6% versus a gain of 0.2% in February. Actual was an increase of 0.5%. Excluding auto sales, consensus was an increase of 0.7% versus a gain of0.2% in February. Actu...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the March Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. March PPI was expected to increase 1.1% versus of a gain of 0.8% in February. Actual was an increase of 1.4%. On a year over year basis, March Producer Price Index gained 11.2% versus a...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 29 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved higher following release of the March Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase 1.1% versus a gain of 0.8% in February. Actual was an increase of 1.2% On a year-over-year basis March Consumer Price Index consensus was an increase of 8.4% versus a...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Tuesday April 12, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker, as they followed the weakness seen on the LME on Monday.* United States 10-year treasuries yields continue to climb - and to weigh on market sentiment* Today’s focus is on consumer prices (CPI) and their inflationary impl...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 33 points in pre-opening trade. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 84.72 to 3167.12 following more economic shutdowns triggered by spread of COVID 19 infections Shopify added $7.82 to US$611.00 after the company announced a 10 for 1 stock split.Twitter slipped $0.58 to $45.64 on news that Elon Must will not join its...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board on the morning of Monday April 11, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.* Rising US 10-year treasuries yields weighing on market sentiment* China’s Covid-19lockdowns affecting logistics and demandBase metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were down across the board on Monday morning wi...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 13 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US79.43 cents following release of Canada's March Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase in employment of 79,000. Actual was an increase of 72,500. Consensus for the Unemployment Rate was unchanged from February at 5.5%....Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange edged up on the morning of Friday April 8, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker.* The markets are still focused on monetary tightening in the United States and how that might slow economic growth...* ...and how will China’s Covid-19 lockdowns hit demandBase metalsThree-month base metals prices on the LME were up across...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points at 7:30 AM EDT.The Canadian federal government is scheduled to release its budget today at 4:00 PM EDTLevi Straus gained $0.58 to $19.99 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal first quarter earnings. Capital One (COF $129.28) is expected to open higher after announcing a $5 billion share buyback program...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 40 points in pre-opening trade. Jet Blue dropped $0.51 to $13.13 after Raymond James downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform.Tilray gained $0.13 to $7.16 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal third quarter revenues and earnings. Archer Daniels Midland advanced $0.52 to $91.42 after Stifel Nicolau...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on the morning of Wednesday April 6, with the strong dollar - which is at its highest level since May 2020 - likely to be a strong headwind.* Services purchasing managers indices (PMI) in Europe and the US continued to generally show strong expansions, while those in China sank* Hawkish talk from the US F...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer on the morning of Tuesday April 5, but trading was light with China on holiday.* Market now focused on the next round of sanctions against Russia and whether they will include a ban on importing Russian oil* Firmer metals prices underpinned by higher energy prices and concerns about shortagesBase metalsThree-month base metals price...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 11 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the February U.S. Trade Deficit at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was $88.50 billion versus $89.70 billion in January. Actual was $89.20 billion.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US80.35 cents following release of Canada's...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Twitter advanced $9.49 to $48.80 on news that Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2% interest in the company.Tesla gained $7.51 to $1092.10 after announcing record production in the first quarter. Constellation Brands added $1.29 to $235.00 after the Sands family proposed a switch to a single clas...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 15 points in pre-opening trade. U.S. equity index futures eased slightly following release of the March Employment Report. March Non-farm Payrolls released at 8:30 AM EDT on Friday was expected to increase 486,000 versus an upwardly revised gain of 750,000 in February. Actual was an increase of 431,000.March Unemployme...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. At 7:30 AM EDT, S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade. U.S. February Personal Income to be released at 8:30 AM EDT is expected to increase 0.5% versus a gain of 0.4% in January. February Personal Spending is expected to increase 0.5% versus a gain of 2.1% in January. January Canadian GDP to be released at 8:30 AM EDT is expec...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on the morning of Thursday March 31, with a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing likely to weigh on overall sentiment.• China’s purchasing managers indices (PMI) for manufacturing and non-manufacturing dropped into contraction mode in March.• This raises the prospects of stagflation, but the silver...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed on the morning of Tuesday March 29, while on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, nickel was down and the rest were firmer – this despite concerns about lockdowns affecting demand.* Despite low volumes and concerns about China’s lockdowns, the base metals generally look upbeat.* LME three-month nickel seems to have found a pri...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 39 points in pre-opening trade. McCormick gained $2.24 to $99.86 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter revenues and earnings. CVS Health dropped $2.24 to $99.86 after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold.Bausch Health added $0.17 to US$22.75 after announcing plans to reduce its debt by anot...Read More