Market Commentary: GoPro goes public | Iraq's oil production untouched

Markets are trading higher this morning after oil suffered one of its biggest weekly falls of the year as concerns about a loss of supply from Iraq faded and investors banked profits.

So far, the escalating violence in Iraq has not dented the country’s overall oil production, with the country’s oil minister saying this week that exports had averaged around 2.5m b/d in June. This is because the country’s largest oilfields and main export terminals are in the south, hundreds of miles from the fighting.

An interesting market to look at is Malaysia’s benchmark stock index. It was one of the first to begin rebounding from the global financial crisis and is now headed for its smallest first-half return since 2008. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index has gained just 0.7% this year, after rising 127 percent from its October 2008 low in the longest bull market among nations in the MSCI All-Country World Index.    

Record household debt, equity valuations that exceed the average level of the past five market peaks and slower earnings growth at companies from Petronas Dagangan Bhd. to Maxis Bhd. are taking the spotlight off Southeast Asia’s second-biggest stock market. While share purchases by the nation’s 587 billion-

Moving on the Europe, the Germans want the British to stay in the EU. Mr Schäuble, one of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s closest confidants and a veteran of many EU disputes, argued that Britain’s EU membership was particularly important for Germany as London and Berlin share a market-oriented reform approach.

In corporate news, the world's best-selling wearable high definition action camera company GoPro (GPRO) went public this Thursday in what is the largest IPO for any electronic consumer company in 23 years, since Duracell offered its IPO in 1991.

The company raised $427.2 million by selling 17.8 million class A shares priced at $24, as compared to Duracell which managed to raise $433 million at its debut. The IPO, which values the company at $2.96 billion, is also the first IPO offering for any consumer electronic company since Skullcandy (SKUL) went public in 2011 for $188 million.

GoPro is building upon its momentum and showing no signs of slowing down. Living up to the hype, the company's stock price rocketed up on its first day of trading gaining 30.6% and closing at $31.34, a befitting action packed debut for a company loved by its daredevil customers.

The reason for such a huge increase in its price was due to the fact it was heavily oversubscribed. As of Friday, the stock continued with its upward trend and was trading at $35.92, showing an increase of 14.61%.
 
Nike Inc., the world’s largest sporting-goods maker, posted fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as running and basketball gear drove sales in North America.    

Nike is benefiting from consumers increasingly buying athletic apparel and gear for everyday wear, not just when working out or playing sports. The trend has helped the company generate growth in mature markets such as North America, where sales gained 10 percent to $3.29 billion last quarter, topping the $3.13 billion average estimate from Consensus Metrix.
 
China's Alibaba plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol "BABA," dealing a blow to rival Nasdaq. The Chinese e-commerce giant filed a nominal $1 billion initial public offering in early May, though the ultimate offering is expected to much higher.
 
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