By James Langton
(September 23 – 09:00 EST) -Asian markets plunged overnight in reaction to the
Bank of Japan’s decision to leave the Yen. But that decision has had little impact on European markets. In North America markets look slated for a dead-cat bounce off yesterday’s lows. S&P futures are pointing slightly upward.
Statistics Canada is reporting that retail sales rose 1.3% in July to $21.7 billion, analysts were expecting a 1.0% rise month over month. This was the third consecutive monthly gain. Statscan says that about a third of the gain is due to higher prices, primarily gas prices.
Sales were up strongly in clothing stores (3.1%), general merchandise stores (2.1%) and automotive stores (2.0%). Furniture stores were the only category that’s down (0.3%), while
food stores remained unchanged.
Statscan is also reporting that the composite index was up just 0.2% in August, driven by gains in housing and the stock market, while services and other durables lagged.
No major economic data was released in the U.S. today.
In Asia, skepticism has deepened about the extent of Japan’s recovery. The Nikkei plunged 607 points. The Hang Seng index shed 233 points of its own in sympathy.
European markets opened lower after yesterday’s drop on Wall Street and the Asian market reaction overnight, but they have since been trading off their lows and remain encouraged by the positive direction on S&P futures. The FTSE 100 is down about 15 points so far in London. Meanwhile the French CAC 40 has dropped 39 points and Frankfurt’s DAX is down 32 points.
TransCanada Pipelines has appointed Doug Baldwin as its new president and CEO. He was serving as interim CEO since August 1.