Equities
Stock markets were mixed amid confusion as U.S. officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide specifics on the changes.
Wall Street futures pointed lower following Friday’s holiday closing.
TSX futures were in positive territory after Canada’s main stock market closed at another record high in the previous session.
The United States is close to finalizing several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on Aug. 1.
“This renewed escalation in trade tensions comes at a time when major trade partners, including the EU, India and Japan, are believed to be at crucial stages of bilateral negotiations,” analysts at ANZ said in a note.
“If reciprocal tariffs are implemented in their original form or even expanded, we believe it will intensify downside risks to U.S. growth and increase upside risks to inflation.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.32 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.07 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.84 per cent and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.28 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.56 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.12 per cent.
Commodities
Oil shrugged off the impact of OPEC+ hiking output more than expected for August as well as concern about the potential impact of U.S. tariffs, with prices reversing early losses as a tight physical market lent support.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies agreed on Saturday to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August, more than the 411,000 bpd hikes they made for the earlier three months.
Brent crude futures were up 0.5 per cent to US$68.66. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 1 US cent to US$66.99.
“For now, the oil market remains tight, suggesting it can absorb additional barrels,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
In other commodities, spot gold declined 0.9 per cent to US$3,303.93 an ounce. U.S. gold futures lost 0.9 per cent to trade at US$3,313.10.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.06 US cents to 73.58 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.34 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, advanced 0.23 per cent to 97.40.
The euro dropped 0.49 per cent to US$1.1723. The British pound fell 0.25 per cent to US$1.3616.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.365 per cent.
Economic news
China foreign reserves
Japan real cash earnings
Euro zone retail sales
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Global Supply Chain Pressure Index for June.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press