We will be back on Monday January 8th.
News headlines
Congress Averts a Shutdown But Now Faces a Messy Start to 2018 (Bloomberg) The Republican-controlled Congress on Thursday night managed the bare minimum task of keeping the government open, yet made little progress on a medley of divisive fiscal and social issues it will now be forced to confront in January.
Catalan Separatists Win Majority of Seats, Not Votes: Chart (Bloomberg) It’s all about seats, not votes. Parties supporting Catalan independence from Spain won back control of the regional assembly, taking 70 of 135 seats after a record 82 percent turnout. Still, they got just 48 percent of votes, falling short of the majority that would boost their claims to a democratic mandate to break away from Spain.
Bitcoin Fights Back From $13,000 as Selloff Enters Fourth Day (Bloomberg) The world’s largest cryptocurrency sank as much as 21 percent, briefly trading below $13,000, before recovering to near $14,000 late in the European morning. Other cryptocurrencies also tumbled, with bitcoin cash crashing 31 percent and ethereum losing 20 percent over the past 24 hours, according to coinmarketcap.com
Catalan Vote Weighs on Stocks, Euro; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg) Stocks in Europe struggled for traction and the euro declined after Catalan separatists won a regional election in Spain, news which offset solid growth data from two of the region’s big economies. U.S. equity futures and the dollar nudged higher, while Treasuries were steady.
Oil Set for First Weekly Gain Since November as Stockpiles Drop (Bloomberg) Front-month futures slid 0.5 percent in New York, trimming the weekly gain to 1.4 percent. Crude supplies slid last week to 436.5 million, the lowest level since October 2015, according to U.S. government data Wednesday. Output expanded at the smallest rate since starting a nine-week gain in mid-October. The North Sea’s Forties Pipeline System is set to return to normal flows early next year, according to a statement from operator Ineos Group
In Silicon Valley, much-feared tax bill pays dividends for workers (Reuters) The U.S. tax overhaul is a boon to Silicon Valley technology companies like Apple Inc AAPL.O and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O, which will enjoy big tax cuts and the chance to bring back billions of dollars from overseas at a reduced rate.
U.S. Output Grew 3.2% in Third Quarter (Wall Street Journal) U.S. output grew at a 3.2% annual rate in the third quarter, the government said Thursday, a touch below a prior estimate but pointing to economic momentum ahead of a major tax cut.
Overnight markets
Overview: US 10yr note futures are down -0.051% at 123-15, S&P 500 futures are up 0.08% at 2690, Crude oil futures are down -0.6% at $58.01, Gold futures are up 0.06% at $1271.4, DXY is up 0.13% at 93.395, CAD/USD is up 0.4% at 0.7819.
| Cda Benchmarks | Yield | Tsy Benchmarks | Yield |
| 2 Year | 1.639% | 2 Year | 1.891% |
| 5 Year | 1.837% | 5 Year | 2.251% |
| 10 Year | 2.017% | 10 Year | 2.487% |
| 30 Year | 2.251% | 30 Year | 2.846% |
US Economic Data
| 8:30 AM | Personal Income, Nov est 0.4% (0.4% prior) |
| Personal Spending, Nov est 0.5% (0.3% prior) | |
| PCE Deflator MoM, Nov est 0.3% (0.1% prior) | |
| PCE Deflator YoY, Nov est 1.8% (1.6% prior) | |
| PCE Core MoM, Nov est 0.1% (0.2% prior) | |
| PCE Core YoY, Nov est 1.5% (1.4% prior) | |
| Durable Goods Orders, Nov est 2.0% (-0.8% prior) | |
| Durable Ex Transportation, Nov est 0.5% (0.9% prior) | |
| Cap Goods Orders Nondef Ex Air, Nov est 0.5% (0.3% prior) | |
| 10 :00 AM | New Home Sales, Nov est 655k (685k prior) |
| New Home Sales MoM, Nov est -4.4% (6.2% prior) | |
| U. of Mich. Sentiment, Dec est 97.2 (96.8 prior) | |
| 11:00 AM | Kansas City Fed Manf. Activity, Dec est 15 (16 prior) |
Canadian Economic Data
| 8:30 AM | GDP MoM, Oct est 0.2% (0.2% prior) |
| GDP YoY, Oct est 3.5% (3.3% prior) |
Disclosure and Disclaimer
The following sources of information have been, or may have been, used partially or in their entirety to compile the herein provided CTI Capital Securities Inc. (“CTI Capital”) ‘Morning Comments.’ CTI Capital believes these sources to be generally reliable, however, as said sources are varied and from third parties, CTI Capital cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of said information: Canadian Press (CP); Bloomberg News (BN); Wall Street Journal (WSJ); Stone & McCarthy Research Associates (SMRA); New York Times (NYT); Financial Times (FT); Market News International (MNI); Globe and Mail; Associated Press (AP); CNW Group (CNW); Reuters; Business News Network (BNN); Market Watch; and others.
Ivan Greenstein, Stephan Buu, Hugues Savard
Institutional Bond and Equity Desk
CTI Capital Valeurs Mobilières Inc.
Tel : (514)-861-0240
Fax: (514)-861-3230