Equities
Global stocks were mixed as investors tapped the brakes on a rally sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s mammoth spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure and set their sights again on tariff uncertainty.
U.S. main stock indexes opened flat to slightly lower, as investors focused on corporate earnings, economic data and Trump’s remarks at the World Economic Forum later this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.10 per cent to 44,113.55, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17 per cent to 6,076.32, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.51 per cent to 19,906.988 at the bell.
the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.13 per cent higher at 25,344.96, supported by energy stocks.
In Canada, investors are getting results from NovaGold Resources Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from American Airlines Group Inc., CSX Corp., GE Aerospace, Texas Instruments Inc. and Union Pacific Corp.
“Clearly, the path of least resistance continues to lead to the upside in the equity space, with participants ably shrugging off tariff-related uncertainties for now,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
“That said, next week brings a chunky slate of event risk, including the first [U.S. Federal Reserve rate] decision of the year, as well as earnings from megacaps. ... It wouldn’t be too surprising to see some equity longs trimmed into that bonanza.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.09 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.12 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.23 per cent and France’s CAC 42 gained 0.35 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.8 per cent higher ahead of that country’s interest rate announcement tomorrow, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.4 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices were little changed, maintaining almost all of the previous session’s losses on uncertainty over how Trump’s proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand.
Brent crude futures were up 18 US cents to US$79.18 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 14 US cents to trade at US$75.58.
“Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers,” said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva at Phillip Nova. “Key factors include expectations of increased U.S. production under President Trump’s pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions.”
In other commodities, spot gold eased 0.4 per cent to US$2,744.49 an ounce. U.S. gold futures shed 0.7 per cent to US$2,751.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 69.38 US cents to 69.60 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.12 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.12 per cent to 108.30.
The euro slipped 0.02 per cent to US$1.0408. The British pound advanced 0.05 per cent to US$1.2322.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.642 per cent.
Economic news
Japan trade balance
Bank of Japan monetary meeting and outlook report (through Friday).
Euro zone consumer confidence
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for November, which were flat compared with October as gains in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations and fuel vendors offset lower sales in other areas. The Street had expected a rise of 0.4 per cent.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Jan. 18, which rose marginally. Claims increased 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000, compared with the estimated 212,000, down 5,000 from the previous week.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press