Equities
Global markets were mixed in cautious trading, in light of growing evidence of a softening in the U.S. economy ahead of earnings from Nvidia tomorrow.
Investors were rattled early on by an order from U.S. President Donald Trump to limit Chinese investments in strategic areas such as chips, AI and aerospace.
Wall Street indexes had a subdued start as markets awaited quarterly earnings from AI-chip leader Nvidia tomorrow.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.11 per cent to 43,509.74, the S&P 500 fell 0.01 per cent to 5,982.73, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.23 per cent to 19,242.608 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.3 per cent higher at 25,233.64, as investors assessed results from Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia, which kicked off first-quarter bank earnings reports.
Scotiabank has posted first-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations, even as profit slumped as the lender rejigged its international business and set aside more provisions for potential loan defaults.
Bank of Montreal has reported higher first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as capital markets activity surged. Both banks kept their dividends unchanged.
Investors are also getting results from EQB Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Stantec Inc. and Leon’s Furniture Ltd.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Home Depot Inc. and Intuit Inc.
Sentiment in the markets is fragile, but there has not been much in the way of volatility, Chris Beauchamp, chief strategist at IG, said.
“This is a sharp contrast to the past couple of years where crises seem to come one at a time and then, you could just deal with them when they occurred, and now it seems to be ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’,” he said.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.49 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.52 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.42 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.06 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.39 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.32 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices dipped, buffeted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policies as he juggles a push for peace in Ukraine, a tariff war with former allies and more sanctions on Iran.
Brent crude futures were down 0.8 per cent to US$74.21 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 0.8 per cent to trade at US$70.16 a barrel. Both contracts gained in yesterday’s session after a US$2 drop last Friday.
“In the short term, I continue to think crude oil is looking for a base. The fresh U.S. sanctions announced on Iran overnight will likely assist with this as will the Iraqi oil minister’s commitment to rein in its oversupply,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to US$2,938.63 an ounce. U.S. gold futures declined 0.3 per cent to US$2,953.50.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.02 US cents to 70.22 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 1 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.121 per cent to 106.37.
The euro rose 0.36 per cent to US$1.0507. The British pound gained 0.41 per cent to US$1.2678.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.319 per cent.
Corporate news
Home Depot has forecast annual same-store sales growth below analysts’ estimates, as the top U.S. home improvement chain contends with a slowdown in spending on big-ticket projects amid a weak housing market and higher borrowing costs.
Economic news
Japan machine tool orders
Germany GDP
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s manufacturing sales for January.
(9 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 city) for December. Estimate is a rise of 0.3 per cent from Novemer and up 4.4 per cent year-over-year.
(9 a.m. ET) U.S. FHFA House Price Index for December. Estimate is an increase of 0.2 per cent from November and a rise of 4.3 per cent year-over-year.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for February.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press