TORONTO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The expansion of purchasing activity in Canada slowed in December as inventories shrunk while employment continued to rise, according to Ivey Purchasing Managers Index data released on Friday.The seasonally adjusted index fell to 60.4 from 63.0 in November. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in the pace of activity.The unadjusted index fell to 49.3 from 62.4.The ga...Read More
Like many retail stocks, auto parts suppliers AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP), and O'Reilly Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:ORLY) disappointed in 2017, with all three stocks touching multi-year lows. But more recently this group has outperformed. In fact, AZO, AAP, and ORLY have each beat out the performance of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) over the past two months -- and quite ea...Read More
* U.S. economy adds 148,000 jobs in Dec vs est. 190,000* Average hourly earnings rise 0.3 pct, in line with estimates* Cisco rises after BofA Merrill Lynch slaps 'buy' rating* Indexes up: Dow 0.18 pct, S&P 0.18 pct, Nasdaq 0.33 pct (Updates to open)By Sruthi ShankarJan 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on Friday as investors looked beyond weaker-than-expected U.S. job additions in...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices edged up, but remained in the negative territory, after momentum in the service sector disappointed, according to the latest data from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM).The Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index slipped to a reading of 55.9% in December, down from November’s reading of 57.4%. The decline was a surprise to the markets, which expected the...Read More
The extent of the damage due to security flaws in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) chips took a drastic turn last night when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) confirmed that all of its Mac and iOS devices -- including the iPhone and iPad -- were impacted by the Meltdown and Spectre bugs. However, Apple said that there were currently "no known exploits" and that it has already issued software updates for MacOS, iOS, and...Read More
Echoing the Dow's hot start to 2018, two blue-chip tech stocks are buzzingafter receiving some bullish analyst attention. This morning, Dow components Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) both received upgrades and price-target hikes, and have already notched fresh multi-year highs. Further, both CSCO and UTX stocks are set for their best week in month...Read More
LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Italy are all scheduledto auction bonds in the coming week.* On Tuesday, Germany will sell 500 million euros of inflation-linked bonds maturing in April 2046, with a 0.1 percent coupon. On Wednesday,Germany will auction 5 billion euros of bonds maturing in February 2028.* Austria will auction on Tuesday 1.38 billion euros of bonds ma...Read More
Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines released its most recent statistical report, which highlights that November was one of the best months in 2016 when it comes to investments in the mining sector. According to the deputy minister Ricardo Lab??, investments grew by 54.8% compared to the same month of 2016 and reached $515 million. The overall growth in investments from January to November 2017 was...Read More
TORONTO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened lower on Friday, weighed down by losses among energy companies and other natural resource stocks as oil prices retreated, while marijuana producers also extended losses after Thursday's toughening of U.S. federal law.The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 80.29 points, or 0.49 percent, at 16,332.65 shortly after...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly lower and trading near thelevels seen just before the release of the U.S. employment report for December.That report was on the weaker side of expectations and gave gold prices a briefpop. However, gold prices have faded again as the U.S. dollar has regained theadvances it briefly lost after the jobs report. February gold was last down$3.90 an ounce at $1,31...Read More
Jan 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes opened at records on Friday as investors looked beyond weaker-than-expected U.S. job additions in December and took support from signs of a pick-up in wage growth.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52 points, or 0.21 percent, to 25,127.13. The S&P 500 gained 8.21 points, or 0.301396 percent, to 2,732.2. The Nasdaq Composite added 27.70 points, or...Read More
(Updates markets, adds comment)By Ann SaphirJan 5 (Reuters) - Traders of U.S. short-term interest-rate futures continued to bet the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates just two times this year after a U.S. government report showed employers added fewer jobs than expected in December, even as wages picked up.The "soggy" data will do little to convince the Fed it needs to do much m...Read More
Drug stock Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) is continuing its climb higher, after brokerage firm TD Securities raised its price target to $27 from $20 earlier. The firm is in the minority with its "buy" rating on VRX; currently, the stock sports just four "buy" or better ratings, compared to 10 "holds" and five "sells." VRX shares are up 1.3% at $23.36 in electronic tradi...Read More
By David LjunggrenOTTAWA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The surging Canadian economy added almost 80,000 jobs in December for the second month in a row, boosting chances the Bank of Canada could hike interest rates in the first quarter of 2018 for what would be the third time in less than a year.Statistics Canada on Friday reported 78,600 new positions in December, smashing analysts' expectations of a modest...Read More
Jobs data will be in focus today, after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in December. Although this marked the slowest pace of job growth in three months -- and missed the consensus forecast for 198,000 new jobs -- stock futures are holding onto early gains, as wages increased slightlyand the unemployment rate held at 4.1%. Another positive session would have the Dow J...Read More
* U.S. economy adds 148,000 jobs in Dec vs est. 190,000* Average hourly earnings rise 0.3 percent* Cisco rises after upgrade* Futures up: Dow 88 pts, S&P 9.25 pts, Nasdaq 31.25 pts (Adds details on jobs data, comment, updates share prices)By Sruthi ShankarJan 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on Friday as investors looked beyond weaker-than-expected U.S. job additions in Decembe...Read More
NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. bond market's gauges of inflation expectations turned flat on Friday, trimming a modest drop linked to a December payrolls report that showed a smaller-than-forecast rise in hiring and in-line growth in average hourly earnings.At 9:11 a.m. (1411 GMT), the 10-year inflation breakeven rate, or the yield gap between 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities...Read More
LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Barclays has appointed Kunal Gandhi as head of corporate broking and Rob Mayhew as his deputy, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday.Gandhi helped build Barclays' corporate broking business by advising clients including insurer Legal & General and the London Stock Exchange , the memo said.Corporate broking is a banking business common in Britain but...Read More
LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures and the dollar trimmed gains on Friday after U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in December, although a pick-up in wage gains suggested further labour market strength that could pave the way for interest rate rises.The dollar index - the dollar measured against six other top world currencies - was flat after trading marginally higher before the j...Read More
By Andy BruceLONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Britain's economy looks set for a subdued run-up to Brexit, according to a range of indicators that paint a mixed picture at the start of the country's last full year in the European Union.Forecasters generally think the world's sixth-largest economy will continue to expand at a slow but steady pace during 2018, a better prospect than the gloomy predictions m...Read More