Equities
Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors assessed U.S. economic data and awaited inflation figures and earnings, along with the approach of Donald Trump’s second presidential term next week.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, at the open to 42,366.42. The S&P 500 rose 23.1 points, or 0.39 per cent, at the open to 5,859.27, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 119.6 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 19,207.748 at the opening bell.
Canada’s main stock index opened higher, supported by gains in technology and mining shares. At 9:31 a.m., the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.23 per cent, or 56.22 points, at 24,592.54 points.
In the U.S., investors assessed softer-than-expected producer inflation to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory this year, and prepared for Wednesday’s consumer price index report. Any rise in the core figure greater than the forecast 0.2 per cent would threaten to close the door on central bank easing.
Speculation about the incoming Trump administration’s approach to tariffs was one factor driving global equities, analysts said.
“The market remains focused on Trump and what measures he will present when he is sworn in as president next week,” said Elisabet Kopelman, U.S. economist at European bank SEB.
“It is still very uncertain how the policy will be shaped.”
Corporate earnings are also expected in the U.S. this week with big banks set to report in the coming days.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.36 per cent in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.038 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.85 per cent and France’s CAC 40 increased by 0.83 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei slumped 1.83 per cent, touching a six-week low as investors shed chip stocks and worried about a possible Bank of Japan interest rate hike.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.83 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell a day after hitting four-month highs as the market focused on the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil exports to key buyers India and China.
Brent futures were down 0.44 per cent to US$80.65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.30 per cent to US$78.58 a barrel.
Prices jumped 2 per cent on Monday after the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that trade oil as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers.
“With several nations seeking alternative fuel supplies in order to adapt to the sanctions, there may be more advances in store, even if prices correct a bit lower should tomorrow’s U.S. CPI data come in somewhat hotter-than-expected,” said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM.
Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to US$2,669.09 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar was down slightly against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 69.39 US cents to 69.72 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.64 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.25 per cent to 109.68.
The euro gained 0.08 per cent to US$1.0254. The British pound lost 0.44 per cent to US$1.2149.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was up slightly at 4.789 per cent ahead just after the North American opening bell.
Economic news
Japan bank lending
(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for December.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. PPI final demand for December. The producer price index for final demand rose 0.2 per cent last month after an unrevised 0.4 per cent advance in November, the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI climbing 0.3 per cent.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press