Equities
Global markets were mixed as erratic U.S. trade policies clouded market sentiment and investors turned defensive ahead of key developments later in the week.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will probably speak this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday, days after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
Wall Street futures were little changed after main U.S. markets closed higher yesterday.
TSX futures pointed lower after Canada’s main stock index touched another record high yesterday.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., Dollar General Corp., Ferguson Enterprises Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
“Trump really does have sentiment in the palm of his hands once again,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.
“I suspect we’ll hear about ‘a really great call’ or words to the effect,” he said, referring to the expected call between Trump and Xi.
“But we’ll need to wait for confirmation from China, who tends to take their time on these matters. Until we get concrete confirmation, price action could be shaky and vulnerable to false breaks ... we also have the June 4 deadline for ‘best trade deals’ from U.S. trading partners to factor in.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.12 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.12 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.12 per cent and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.19 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.06 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.53 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied, supported by rising geopolitical tensions as Russia and Ukraine ramped up the war and Iran was set to reject a U.S. nuclear deal proposal that would be key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer.
Brent crude futures gained 0.9 per cent to US$65.21 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 1.1 per cent to US$63.19.
“Risk premia have filtered back into the oil price following deep Ukraine strikes on Russia over the weekend,” said analyst Harry Tchilinguirian of Onyx Capital Group.
“But more importantly for the barrel count, there is the to and fro between the U.S. and Iran regarding uranium enrichment.”
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.7 per cent to US$3,356.75 an ounce after hitting its highest since May 8 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures eased 0.5 per cent to US$3,381.30.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.76 US cents to 72.96 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.28 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.37 per cent to 99.07.
The euro slid 0.45 per cent to US$1.1391. The British pound declined 0.33 per cent to US$1.3499.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.410 per cent.
Corporate news
Dollar General has raised its annual sales forecast after topping quarterly sales expectations, helped by robust demand for affordable everyday essentials at its stores amid still-high inflation and economic uncertainty driven by tariffs.
Economic news
Euro zone CPI and jobless rate: Euro zone inflation eased below the European Central Bank’s target last month, data showed, underpinning expectations for another interest rate cut this week, even as global trade tensions fuel longer-term price pressures.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. factory orders for April.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for April.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press