Equities
Global markets were on the rise as investors cheered mild inflation data in the United States and signs of resilience in major economies, and expectations of a U.S. rate cut buoyed demand for riskier assets.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major indexes closed higher yesterday.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher after Canada’s main stock market closed at a fresh record high yesterday.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Hydro One Ltd., Metro Inc., Northland Power Inc., Stantec Inc. and Hudbay Minerals Inc.
“The fact that CPI was broadly as expected was met with relief, leading to equity gains and tighter credit spreads as investors became increasingly confident about another rate cut,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.52 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.18 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.75 per cent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.58 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.3 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 2.58 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell after the IEA noted supply overtaking demand this year, while investors awaited Friday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Brent crude futures dropped 0.7 per cent to US$65.67 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 0.8 per cent to US$62.64.
“Oil prices drifted lower on expectations that Friday’s summit would not result in additional sanctions on Russia, ensuring the country’s oil continues to flow predominantly to the south and east,” said PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold gained 0.3 per cent to US$3,354.77 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery inched up 0.1 per cent to US$3,403.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.55 US cents to 72.72 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.63 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, sank 0.29 per cent to 97.81.
The euro gained 0.22 per cent to US$1.1702. The British pound rose 0.47 per cent to US$1.3562.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.257 per cent.
Other corporate news
The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants has signalled its intent to strike in 72 hours. Flight attendants could potentially walk off the job Saturday at 12:58 a.m. ET if a labour deal isn’t reached by then. The airline says it will begin cancelling flights tomorrow.
Economic news
Japan machine tool orders
Germany CPI
(1:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Summary of Deliberations for the July 30 decision
With Reuters and The Canadian Press