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European indices closed mixed on the session with several markets closing early or not even opening today.  On the week the UK FTSE 100 closed up 57bps with France up 1.73% and Germany up 2.41%.  Most sectors finished higher, led by Autos and Tech names.  Healthcare again moved off.  Volume in Europe was off 11%. The Media space was supported by Mediaset +3.6%, with their board preventing Vivendi from participating in their AGM. Engineering firm Arcadis rallied 10% on solid 1Q results. One broker sees margin improvement ahead despite tough sledding in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Other names seeing earnings include Unilever +3%, Nestle +.8%, and Pernod Ricard -1%. On concerns Bain Capital and Carlyle may not complete their takeover of the firm, Osram Licht fell 5.5%.  Both investors are expressing concerning post weaker earnings at the firm. Cigarette firms turned lower post headlines that Senator Mitch McConnell seeks to raise the tobacco age in the US to 21 from the current 18. The move would include vaping devices.   Imperial Brands fell .8% with BATS off 1.4%.  ***Note that only mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey are open Friday.*** Monday, Canada and Mexico are open…

European indices closed mixed with most markets near flat on the session.  Sweden closed with a decent gain as did Germany.   Roughly 2/3rds of sectors closed better with strong gains in Retail +1.33% and Basic Resources +1.01%.  Healthcare and Banks slipped on the day. The Euro sold off on Draghi’s post-ECB-rate-announcement-presser.  As expected rates were left as-is with levels to remain there until at least through the end of the year. QE debt is expected to continue to be rolled over, even after their first rate hike.  Draghi provided no update on TLTRO’s, noting it was too early to provide any details.  The € did manage to rebound and wipe away much of the pullback. Heavyweight Reckitt Benckiser fell 6.5% as it may very well incur liabilities from US government prosecution over Suboxone Film that was produced by Indivior -72%, which it used to own.  In addition to possible government actions the firm may face lawsuits with the opioid manufacturer space under attack. Logitech +1.5% worked higher with positive sentiment in the name after their CEO said a big acquisition for the company is “conceivable”. Post the close Louis Vuitton +.8% said organic revenues rose 15% in their fashion &…

Asian  Markets Lackluster trading with mixed performance across the region and also within countries.  For example, Chinese and Japanese markets saw varied moves across their related indices.  As a result, sectors were also mixed.  Real estate, healthcare and consumer discretionary improve about 1%.  Materials saw profit taking and gave way c. 1% while utilities end the day off c. 0.5%. Important Headlines Sony +9.3% is one of the day’s stars.  This was in response to yesterday’s report activest investor Thirdpoint is building a stake in the company. Gree Appliance +10.0% is limit up.  Its parent company intends to sell a 15.0% stake.  The general commentary is this will improve corporate structure and operational efficiency. Wynn Resorts is conducting talks to acquire Crown Resorts +19.7%.  The deal is said to put a valuation on Crown of c. A$10b and is A$14.75 per share.  That is c. 26.0% premium to yesterday’s close and will put quite a few shrimp on the bar-b. The Chinese auto sector had a number of important headlines.  Byd’s +1.2% new energy vehicle sales improve by 116.0% y/y during March.  Total sales are 8.5% higher.  Geely Auto’s +0.9% are 3% to the upside and the company saw a…

Asian Markets A mixed day for the region with mostly modest moves.  The mainland Chinese markets initially traded well following their three day weekend.  However, they were unable top maintain those gains.  Australia bounced after lagging last week. Sectors were fairly split.  Basic materials are the day’s clear winner better by  more than 1% with energy improving c. 0.5%.  To the downside by c. 0.5% are consumer discretionary and utilities. There are a number of reports indicating the PBoC may once again make “targeted” decreases to the reserve-ratio requirement this month.  The central bank will also make use of its medium term lending facility with CNY 367b in such loans maturing. Other Important Headlines Press reports indicate BHP +1.7% is preparing to cut more than 700 white collar jobs. Jefferies initiated coverage on a number of Macau gaming names but it didn’t help their trading performance.  Sands China -1.4% and Wynn Macau -0.5% are rated buys while MGM China -2.5% and Galaxy Ent. -2.4% are holds. The U.K. is reviewing the gaming renewal practices of Sony -0.2% and Nintendo -1.8% for potential competition and fairness violations. Shinsegae Grp Vice Chair Chung will increase his stake in E-Mart +5.25% to 10.3%…

European markets closed mixed with markets there spending the session shaking off early lows.  On the sector front only Autos saw notable gains, finishing up 71bps, while Banks and Personal Goods were only slightly green. Basic Resources fell over a percent while Energy slipped less than percent on flattish oil prices today.  Copper is currently off over a percent today. During its investor day Michelin +.6% reaffirmed their growth objectives for next year and announced they will undergo a €500M share buyback.  On that the name moved off of earlier lower levels to close up small.  The company said while Chinese new car sales are expected to rise in the 2H new car sales in March declined again. In the retail space Casino fell 3.5% after Morgan Stanley expressed concern about their debt load. Competition and modest cost-savings were highlighted with the broker noting the company has few levers to pull to right the ship. Also weighing in the retail space, home appliance-seller AO World fell 5.7% on word they adjusted ebitda is expected at the lower end of expectations.  The company booked a loss-making contract in Germany and is unable to terminate it.  The firm is evidently unable to…

Asian Markets Most of the regions core markets had minimal moves following yesterday’s strong gains.  Peripherals are outperformers.   Consumer staples fell by c. 1% and defensives remain out of favor.  Materials and IT gained c. 0.5%.  Semiconductor names saw buying interest following a Digitimes report chips prices will rebound during the second half of the year. Down Under, the RBA left its benchmark rate unchanged at 1.5%, as expected.  Overall, the central bank remained balance noting areas of strength and weakness in the overall economy.  The AUD gained following the countries budget which is projecting an A$7.1b surplus for FY20. European Markets Europe had a sluggish start but moved to the highs after about three hours into the trading session.  The markets are currently holding the highs of the day.  The auto sector is the standout better by more than 1%.  Tech, media, insurance, food/bevies and banks are all better by more than 0.5%.  Telecoms and healthcare are down small and retail has lagged all session. Currency Markets Bitcoin has surged more than 20.0% during Asian trading.  However, there was no fundamental trigger scene.  Speculation it was a significant buy order but that is not conclusive.  It has pared some…

Asian Markets Word of progress in the Sino-US trade talks lifts equities.  Most of the major indices recorded significant gains with the Chinese markets leading the way.  Surprisingly, Australia lagged with utilities and energy among others holding the ASX200 back.  For the region, all major sectors end the day better.   Consumer staples, financials, healthcare and real estate improve by c. 2%. European Markets Europe is also trading well and currently near highs of the day.  Sweden lags the as the anti-money laundering scandal continues to weigh upon the banks.  Basic resources area head by c. 2%.  Retail, autos, technology, financials and constructions improve by c. 1.0% or more.  with most other sectors to the upside.  Defensives and travel/leisure lag. We couldn’t go a day without mentioning Brexit. Parliament will have a third vote regarding PM May’s Brexit plan.  However, today’s vote will only be for a portion of the existing deal she has hammered out with the EU.  Debate is occurring as we to to press with the tally scheduled for 10:30 AM Eastern. Other Important International Headlines ICBC -0.8% did not take part in today’s rally following results out after yesterday’s close.  FY 18 NI is CNY 297.7b vs.…

Post the mixed session in Asia Europe followed up with like action.  Indices saw light losses in the morning but ticked up sharply at 8:30 EST.  Headlines include a press story concerning the ECB planning to return interest made on excess funds held there by member banks.  At the same time the US reported a trade deficit $6B less than expected with the balance vs China narrowing by$5B. Sentiment of course was higher on hopes the White House will lighten up against their largest trading partner. Bonds are trading up today sans the UK gilt and the Pound firms above 1.32. Germany issued 10 bunds today, yielding a negative .05%, its first negative rate since 2016.  On the Brexit front it is not completely clear at this point but indications are that PM May may step down from her PM position once she gets the Brexit plan where she wants to be.  Her intent is to put her plan back to a vote in Parliament but will not make the attempt until she is more confident of a win. In the tech space Infineon fell over 5% after paring their FY19 revenue view and lowering their segment result margin to…

The Sovereign Debt Markets Most yields are rising today.  Japan’s benchmark yield higher c. 2 basis points and Australia’s 4.5.  New Zealand continues to see yield declines with a widening deficit not helping.  The German Bund yield remains negative. The US 10 yr. yield advances c. 5 basis points. Asian Markets Most of the region saw a rebound with Japan leading the way.  This was despite a key profit warning in the tech sector which we will address below.  The Chinese markets gave ground on growth concerns.  Specifically, a Bloomberg survey shows analysts are cutting their respective Chinese GDP estimates.  The survey results show consensus for Q1 Chinese GDP is now 6.2% from the prior result of 6.3%. Led by Japanese names, most sectors end the day higher.  Consumer staples gained more than 1%.  Chinese names helped with local investors rotating into more defensive plays.  IT was flat, as was energy. Important Headlines Samsung Elec. -0.5% created the underperformance in the IT sector.  The company sees Q1 earnings below expectations.  They cite low chip prices along with weak display demand.  The shares recouped about 2/3 of the day’s initial losses. Wesfarmers -3.5% is making a bid for rare-earth miner Lynas…

Sovereign Debt Markets The global fall in bond yields continued in Asia.  Australia’s 10 yr. yield is lower by more than 5 basis points reaching an all time low.  Japan’s 10 yr. yield is off 1.4 basis points.  Europe is stemming the tide.  The debt markets  are rising there but the German 10 yr. Bund still has a negative yield. The U.S. 10 yr. yield is higher by c. 3 basis points. Asian Markets Following Friday’s losses in the West and the inversion of the U.S. yield curve, Asian markets saw heavy selling across the board.  There may be one “silver lining” in today’s trading activity.  Many of the local exchanges saw turnover well below the 20 dmavg.  Japan and Hong Kong are exceptions to that statement. All the major sectors are lower.  Financials, industrials, telcos, consumer staples and healthcare end the day off 2% or more. European Markets Europe opened to the downside with the Euro Stoxx 600 hitting a low of c. 0.8%.  However, the index pared more than half of the advance but the rally has petered out.  Italy and Spain try to cling to earlier gains. Most sectors are in the red.  Media, retail and technology…