Equities
Global markets slid in a downbeat end to the week as deepening geopolitical worries and fears over U.S. tariffs and their impact on the global economy curbed investor appetite for risk.
Wall Street opened lower as investors continued to navigate the complex landscape of tariffs, with FedEx becoming the latest firm to adjust its annual projections due to economic uncertainties.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77 per cent to 41,629.01, the S&P 500 lost 0.78 per cent to 5,618.60 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.97 per cent to 17,519.89 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.34 per cent lower at 24,973.82, led by falling mining stocks.
In Canada, investors are getting earnings from Premium Brands Holdings Corp., which reported fourth-quarter profit had more than doubled from a year earlier as the specialty food company saw record revenud
Investors are now focusing on the details of the Trump administration’s April 2 tariffs. George Boubouras, head of research at K2 Asset Management, said the unease was causing more market volatility.
“The sharp change in future expectations is effectively leading to the amplified volatility events,” he said.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.65 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.62 per cent, Germany’s DAX gave back 0.72 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.64 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.2 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.19 per cent.
Tantrums and TIARAs: World market themes for the week ahead
Commodities
Oil prices fell slightly but were heading for a second consecutive weekly gain as fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and the latest output plan from the OPEC+ producer group raised expectations of tighter supply.
Brent crude futures were down 0.3 per cent to US$71.77 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gave back 0.2 per cent to trade at US$67.94 a barrel.
“While [OPEC+] shares a plan for compensation cuts, it certainly doesn’t mean members will follow it. A handful of members have consistently produced above their target production levels,” ING analysts said in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to US$3,034.02 an ounce. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1 per cent to US$3,040.90.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 69.67 US cents to 69.87 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.87 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.03 per cent to 103.88.
The euro slid 0.13 per cent to US$1.0840. The British pound declined 0.21 per cent to US$1.2940.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.208 per cent.
Economic news
China CPI
Euro zone consumer confidence
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for January, which declined 0.6 per cent from December, slightly more than the 0.4-per-cent estimate. Core inflation was down 0.2 per cent.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for February. Estimates are 0.1-per-cent declines from January and year-over-year.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press