American Round Up – 06/03/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In European Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Monday, with the banking sector under pressure as German lender Deutsche Bank AG shares slid on its plans for a share sale. The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.5 percent to end at 373.27. Deutsche Bank lost 7.9 percent after the bank said it is planning an 8 billion euro share sale in a bid to strengthen its capital position. Peugeot SA gained 2.7 percent after the French auto maker said it has made a €1.3 billion deal to buy General Motors Co.’s Opel brand in Germany and Vauxhall in the U.K. As well, GM’s financial operations in Europe will be jointly acquired by Peugeot and French lender BNP Paribas SA for about €900 million. Shares of BNP closed down 1 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar rose against the euro on Monday after a former French prime minister ruled out standing in the country’s presidential elections, a development seen as likely boosting the chances of anti-European Union candidate Marine Le Pen. News that North Korea had fired four ballistic missiles over the weekend and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unverified claims that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had wiretapped his correspondence from Trump Tower spurred buying of the safe-haven yen. The dollar fell 0.15 percent against the yen to 113.83 yen, down from Friday’s two-week high of 114.75 yen. The euro was last down 0.2 percent at $1.0600 after falling as low as $1.0577 earlier.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices whipsawed Monday, turning negative after the International Energy Agency forecast potential shale oil growth and waning European refined product demand, which bodes poorly for global efforts to remove a glut. U.S. shale oil production may grow by 1.4 million barrels per day by 2022 with prices at about $60 per barrel, the IEA said in a report. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 26 cents a barrel $53.07. Brent crude fell 10 cents a barrel to $55.80.  Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,231.1 an ounce. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.7 percent to $17.83 an ounce, platinum fell by 0.8 percent to $985.7 and palladium ceded 0.3 percent to $768.75.

In US Equity Markets  stocks were lower on Monday amid losses across sectors as investors’ appetite for risk was curbed by geopolitical tensions in Asia and President Donald Trump’s accusation that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped him. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.39 percent, at 20,924.27, the S&P 500 was down 0.57 percent, at 2,369.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.66 percent, at 5,832.24.  Among stocks, Netflix, was the top stock on the S&P, up 1.5 percent following a UBS rating upgrade to “buy”. Tyson Foods was down 3.8 percent after a strain of bird flu was detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted with the company.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Monday with two-year yields holding below a 7-1/2 year peak, as investors made room for this week’s hefty sale of government and corporate bonds. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 2.498 percent, while the 30-year bond yield  rose 2 basis points to 3.101 percent. The two-year yield edged up marginally to 1.313 percent.