Equities
Global markets were mostly lower on mixed corporate earnings, while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners.
Wall Street futures were mixed after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record high closes yesterday.
TSX futures were in negative territory after Canada’s main stock index closed flat yesterday.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Canadian National Railway Co.,
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from General Motors Co., Coca-Cola Co., Philip Morris International Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Equifax Inc.
“The rally that began as a positioning squeeze has taken on a life of its own, now underwritten by stronger-than-feared earnings,” Stephen Innes, managing partner with SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note.
“But with megacaps like Alphabet and Tesla stepping into the earnings confessional this week, the tape could shift from ‘don’t fight the trend’ to ‘watch your six’ in a heartbeat.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.59 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.17 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 1.21 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.85 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.11 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.54 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices declined for a third consecutive session on concerns the brewing trade war between major crude consumers the United States and the European Union will curb fuel demand growth by reducing economic activity..
Brent crude futures were down 0.8 per cent to US$68.68 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was 0.9 per cent lower at US$66.57 a barrel.
“Broad demand concerns continue to simmer amid escalating global trade tensions, especially as markets eye the latest tariff threats between major economies and Trump’s potential announcements ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
“Investors are also eyeing the ripple effects of fresh U.S. sanctions on Russian crude,” she added.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.2 per cent to US$3,388.13 an ounce, after earlier hitting its highest since June 17. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 per cent to US$3,397.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.01 US cents to 73.18 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.35 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was up 0.03 per cent to 97.88.
The euro slipped 0.04 per cent to US$1.1692. The British pound edged down 0.06 per cent to US$1.3483.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.365 per cent.
Economic news
8:30 am ET: Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives welcome remarks at regulatory conference
With Reuters and The Canadian Press