Daily Market Review 03.06.2015

STOCKS 

All You Need to Know About Fitbit’s IPO: Fitbit Inc. is going public and according to a regulatory filing which was made on Tuesday, this pioneer in wearable fitness tracking, is hoping to raise more than $358 million in its IPO (initial public offering). The company is filing with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and is hoping to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘FIT’. Shares of Fitbit will be sold for between $14 and $16 a share and the company is currently planning to sell 22.4 million shares. This offering is valued at approximately $448 million while some stockholders plan to sell about 7.5 million shares. For now, the company has not provided any details regarding what they intend to do with the money yet they have indicated that these funds could be used for things such as acquisitions as well as research and development. To give some background on Fitbit, the company was founded in 2007 and it has developed 6 trackers which one can either clip on or wear on their wrists. These trackers keep track of a person’s fitness which includes tracking how many calories one has burned, how long one has slept for or how many steps one has taken. In terms of earnings, in 2014, Fitbit’s sales rose to $745.2 million compared to $14.5 million made in 2011. Added to this, the company also made a profit of $131.8 million in 2014 compared to a loss of $4.3 million made in 2011. As of the end of March this year, Fitbit has sold 20.8 million devices. According to The NPD Group, a market research company, this puts Fitbit into the first place in the U.S. fitness activity tracker market. The big question is can Fitbit continue to compete against the big boys such as Apple?

INDICES

After earlier gains were lost, U.S. stocks ended the trading session on Tuesday slightly lower. This came as investors have now turned their attention to Greece to establish if the country will be able to find a solution to its debt crisis while the jobs report expected out on Friday is also in focus. On Tuesday, news was released that the creditors in Greece have now reached a consensus regarding the proposal which will be presented to the government. Added to this, positive inflation data pushed the euro up against the U.S. dollar (USD) and with a weaker greenback, oil prices gained. At the close of trading, the Nasdaq Composite index (COMP) dropped 0.1%, or 6.40 points, to 5,076.52 while the S&P 500 index (SPX) closed down 0.1%, or 2.13 points, to 2,109.60. Gains were led by material and energy stocks. Also, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined by 0.2%, or 28.43 points, to 18,011.94.

CURRENCIES

In currency trading on Tuesday, the U.S. dollar (USD) declined by over 1 percent against other currencies. This decline came in response to poor economic data which showed that factory orders in the US in April declined for the 6th straight month. This prompted concerns regarding the strength of the economy. According to the Commerce Department, in April, factory orders declined 4 percent, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase. On a year over year basis, factory orders declined 6.4 percent. The EUR/USD traded at 1.1138, up 1.94%. The euro was boosted by data which showed that consumer prices in the euro zone increased in May by 0.3% after a flat reading in April. Also, the USD/JPY traded at 124.11, down 0.55% while the GBP/USD traded at 1.5326, up 0.82%. Against the Australian and Canadian dollars, the greenback was lower with AUD/USD up 1.89% to 0.7749 and with USD/CAD down 0.56% to 1.2452. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index was at 96.14, down 1.42%.

COMMODITIES 

On Wednesday, in early morning Asian trade, crude oil prices declined. This came in response to industry data released on Tuesday which showed an increase in crude stockpiles. According to the American Petroleum Institute, for the week ending 29 May, crude oil supplies rose 1.8 million barrels. Also, the supplies of gasoline gained by 1.6 million barrels. On Wednesday, the Department of Energy will release its data on last week’s stockpiles. WTI crude oil for July delivery traded at $60.89 a barrel, down 0.60%, on the NYMEX. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Brent crude oil for July delivery traded at $65.63 a barrel, down $0.75 or 1.16%, on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

The Daily Market Review brought to you by Billionaire Forex UK in collaboration w/ STOCK. All rights reserved.