Equities
Global markets climbed after a U.S. court blocked most of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The little-known Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing his April 2 across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners.
Some of the levies imposed on Canadian imports, including those on steel, aluminum and cars, are not covered by the ruling, and the Trump administration is appealing the decision.
Wall Street futures advanced on the tariff ruling after U.S. markets closed lower yesterday ahead of a robust earnings report from Nvidia.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher after Canada’s main stock market notched another record close yesterday, buoyed by bank earnings.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and BRP Inc.
Ahead of its earnings report, The Globe’s Stefanie Marotta reported that RBC is telling employees to return to the office four days a week, a milestone from one of the country’s largest employers.
Canada’s biggest bank has reported higher second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates and boosted its dividend by 6 cents to $1.54 per share.
CIBC has recorded higher second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Costco Wholesale Corp., Dell Technologies Inc. and Marvell Technology Inc.
“It’s long been suggested that the emergency powers Trump has used to implement tariffs were unconstitutional and that the power to enact tariffs sits with Congress,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial analyst at Capital.com.
“Should the markets get their way, the courts could delay and then deny these tariffs, removing one massive risk and undoubtedly stoking risk appetite.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.03 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.16 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.56 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.88 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.35 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose after the U.S. court’s tariff ruling, while the market was watching out for potential new U.S. sanctions curbing Russian crude flows and an OPEC+ decision on hiking output in July.
Brent crude futures climbed 0.3 per cent to US$65.09 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 0.4 per cent to US$62.08 a barrel.
“Markets are positive since Donald Trump got the setbacks on the tariffs,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. “That’s less headwind for the global economy, so more demand for oil because the machine of the global economy moves better and faster.”
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at US$3,296.63 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were steady at US$3,294.60.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.14 US cents to 72.45 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.38 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, fell 0.2 per cent to 99.69.
The euro rose 0.27 per cent to US$1.1327. The British pound gained 0.2 per cent to US$1.3498.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.480 per cent.
Economic news
Japan consumer confidence
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s current account balance for Q1.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for March.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of May 24, which increased more than expected, rising 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 240,000. Consensus forecast had been for 230,000.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Real GDP for Q1. The Street currently expect a decline of 0.3 per cent year-over-year.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for April.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press