Oil, equities fall but gain over the week... M&A activity has fallen so far this year... Commodities index 26 per cent lower than during the recession...
Oil, equities fall but gain over the week
Oil prices have turned downwards with US stockpiles and global growth concerns weighing although prices are set to end the week higher than at the start; the main boost coming from the proposed cap on output by some major producing nations.
Equities are also set to end the week higher but have been turbulent so far Friday. Asian markets closed mostly lower following a weak lead from Wall Street. Tokyo’s Nikkei was off by 1.42 per cent as the yen strengthened against the US dollar, hitting exporters.
In Europe, markets are also lower with earnings in focus.
Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open lower.
M&A activity has fallen so far this year
Mergers and acquisition activity is down 23 per cent so far this year compared to 2015 according to Thomson Reuters. There have been $336 billion worth of deals globally but oil prices and growth downgrades have made transactions riskier. Foreign takeovers of US firms has been strong though, with a high level of Chinese outward investment targeted towards American firms.
Commodities index 26 per cent lower than during the recession
Scotiabank's Commodity Price Index lost ground again in January, declining 5.1 per cent month-over-month on financial market volatility and heightened concern over the outlook for China and global growth. The All Items Index has now dropped 26 per cent below the April 2009 bottom during the last recession and is lower than a decade ago.
Oil prices have turned downwards with US stockpiles and global growth concerns weighing although prices are set to end the week higher than at the start; the main boost coming from the proposed cap on output by some major producing nations.
Equities are also set to end the week higher but have been turbulent so far Friday. Asian markets closed mostly lower following a weak lead from Wall Street. Tokyo’s Nikkei was off by 1.42 per cent as the yen strengthened against the US dollar, hitting exporters.
In Europe, markets are also lower with earnings in focus.
Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open lower.
| Latest | 1 month ago | 1 year ago | |
| North America (previous session) |
|||
| US Dow Jones | 16,413.43 (-0.25 per cent) | +2.48 per cent | -8.74 per cent |
| TSX Composite | 12,931.36 (+0.50 per cent) | +7.74 per cent | -14.82 per cent |
| Europe (at 5.30am ET) |
|||
| UK FTSE | 5,964.55 (-0.12 per cent) | +1.49 per cent | -13.42 per cent |
| German DAX | 9,411.74 (-0.55 per cent) | -2.61 per cent | -14.45 per cent |
| Asia (at close) |
|||
| China CSI 300 | 3,051.59 (-0.07 per cent) | -5.32 per cent | -13.36 per cent |
| Japan Nikkei | 15,967.17 (-1.42 per cent) | -6.34 per cent | -12.58 per cent |
| Other Data (at 6.30am ET) |
|||
| Oil (Brent) | Oil (WTI) | Gold | Can. Dollar |
| 33.78 (-1.46 per cent) |
30.18 (-1.92 per cent) |
1225.20 (-0.09 per cent) |
U$0.7255 |
| Aus. Dollar |
|||
| U$0.7108 | |||
M&A activity has fallen so far this year
Mergers and acquisition activity is down 23 per cent so far this year compared to 2015 according to Thomson Reuters. There have been $336 billion worth of deals globally but oil prices and growth downgrades have made transactions riskier. Foreign takeovers of US firms has been strong though, with a high level of Chinese outward investment targeted towards American firms.
Commodities index 26 per cent lower than during the recession
Scotiabank's Commodity Price Index lost ground again in January, declining 5.1 per cent month-over-month on financial market volatility and heightened concern over the outlook for China and global growth. The All Items Index has now dropped 26 per cent below the April 2009 bottom during the last recession and is lower than a decade ago.
