On 11 November, 2015 – Markets flat as investors await new data

Shares were mixed globally with virtually no new economic data to trade upon. The US holiday dampened trading there.
United States
Stocks were lower Wednesday with Macy’s weighing negatively on retailers. Energy stocks retreated along with the price of oil while global beer makers advanced after Anheuser-Busch InBev said it had completed the terms of a takeover of SABMiller. All three indices — the Dow Jones industrials, S&P and Nasdaq — lost 0.3%.
Macy’s dropped after it reported third quarter sales that were lower than expected. The company, which also owns Bloomingdale’s, cut its profit forecast for the year. It also announced more store closures and said it won’t form a real estate investment trust to get more revenue from its properties. Fewer people bought winter clothes like boots and coats in the third quarter because the weather was warm. That meant they were less likely to go shopping for clothes at all, so inventories built up and discounts increased. Other retailers including Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and PVH (the company behind the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands) all declined.
The two largest beer makers in the world agreed to combine. The US$107 billion joining of AB InBev and SABMiller brings together brands including Budweiser, Corona, Grolsch and Stella Artois. The combined company will make about a third of the world’s beer. As part of the agreement, SABMiller will sell its 58% stake in a US joint venture to Molson Coors for US$12 billion. Marathon Oil and Apache declined. Security company ADT advanced after its fiscal fourth quarter profit surpassed analysts’ estimates. Horizon Pharma sank as it continued a dispute with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts. Horizon said it was questioning its relationship with Express Scripts, which is suing Horizon and took a pharmacy that dispenses Horizon’s drugs out of its network.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$1.20 to US$1,085.90. Copper futures were down 0.1% to US$2.22. WTI spot crude was down US$1.12 to US$43.09. Dated Brent spot crude was down US$1.52 to US$45.92. The US dollar was down against the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc and the Australian dollar. It was virtually unchanged against the Canadian dollar. The Dollar Index was down 0.3%. The US Treasury market was closed for the Veterans Day holiday.
Europe
Most stocks advanced Wednesday although the markets began to pare their early gains ahead of the US market open. Trading activity in the US was subdued, due to the Veteran’s Day holiday. The FTSE was up 0.3%, the CAC added 0.8%, the DAX gained 0.7% and the SMI was 0.4% higher.
The energy sector was weak thanks to lower crude oil prices. Mining stocks were also under pressure after the unexpected easing in Chinese industrial production growth. Henkel surged after it reported increased profit for the third quarter, amid a significant growth in sales. E.ON retreated but RWE gained. E.ON reaffirmed its forecast for full year 2015. K+S dropped after the potash maker reported 9-month figures. Lufthansa gained after a German court ruled early Wednesday that the UFO Flight Attendants Union is entitled to go ahead with its three day strike that began last Friday. Vivendi sank after it posted a third quarter loss. ICAP increased after the company’s first half profit more than doubled. Tullett Prebon said it intends to acquire all of ICAP’s Global Broking Business in a stock deal estimated to be worth £1.1 billion.
SABMiller advanced after it agreed to be bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Experian advanced after a broker upgrade. TalkTalk Telecom, which reported first half results and lifted its dividend, surged. J Sainsbury, the parent company of British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, said its first half profit before tax was £339 million compared to loss of £290 million last year. However, sales were down and the company cut its dividend. Both Glencore and BHP Billiton retreated after China’s industrial production increased less than expected. Carlsberg surged after the brewer reported a hefty loss for the third quarter, amid a marginal rise in sales. The company plans to slash white collar jobs by about 2,000 to cut costs.
Britain’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest since early 2008 and employment rose to a record in the third quarter, mirroring continued improvement in labor market conditions. The ILO jobless rate dropped to 5.3% from 5.4% in the previous three months.
Asia Pacific
Stock indices were mixed with Australian, Chinese, Japanese and South Korean markets advancing, while the rest of the major markets in the region moved to the downside. The Indian market was closed for a public holiday.
The Nikkei edged up 0.1% as the yen remained subdued in the upper 122 level against the US dollar. Construction, food, real estate, heavy machinery and textile stocks moved to the upside but rubber, mining and paper stocks lost ground in the session. Pharma, retail utility, export and chemical stocks ended mixed.
The Shanghai Composite retreated 0.3% and the Hang Seng lost 0.2%. October data for industrial production and retail sales were released. On the year, industrial production was up 5.6% after increasing 5.7% in September. Analysts expected an increase of 5.8%. At the same time, retail sales were up 11.0% after 10.9% last time. Retail sales were slightly above expectations of 10.9%.
Singles’ Day, a spree of promotions for online sales held annually on November 11, is similar to Cyber Monday in the US. E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding started the day of shopping in 2009 to entice single people to buy things to pamper themselves. Today, most major e-commerce websites participate by offering deep discounts appealing to all shoppers.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries were up 0.5%. Most sectors advanced, led by healthcare stocks, while material stocks came under selling pressure. Baby formula maker Bellamy’s Australia rallied this week amid expectations of increased shipping for Single’s Day. Blackmores, which makes vitamins, gained after the firm cited strong Chinese sales in its latest earnings report. The company also said it would start selling baby formula to China.
Global Stock Market Recap

Please remember, the value of investments and the income from them can do down as well as up. Funds that invest in overseas markets may be subject to currency fluctuations. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other overseas markets. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only.
Looking forward*
Japan reports September machine orders and October producer prices. Australia releases its labour force survey for October. India reports October consumer prices and September industrial production. Germany and France report October consumer prices. September JOLTS along with the weekly jobless claims, money supply and Fed balance sheet will be released.
*Note — all releases are listed in local time.