Equities
Global stocks were mixed as investors braced for hotly anticipated, tone-setting results from AI chipmaker Nvidia Corp.
Wall Street futures were trading flat.
TSX futures were higher on strong earnings from Canada’s big banks.
In Canada, investors are taking in results from major lenders National Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Canada, as well as digital bank EQB Inc. and retailer Dollarama Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from chip giant Nvidia Corp. and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.
Data showed options traders are pricing in about a US$260-billion swing in Nvidia’s market value after the firm reports earnings, where its business in China will be watched after an unusual profit-sharing deal with the Trump administration.
Caught in the crossfire of a Sino-U.S. trade war, the fate of Nvidia’s China business hangs on where the world’s two largest economies land on tariff talks and chip trade curbs.
“Nvidia now accounts for ~8% of the S&P500 and is the flagship of the AI theme, so its results – or the market’s reaction to them – could be market-moving, even trend-reversing," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“Margins could benefit from recent export ban exemptions granted by the Trump administration. But the China story remains uncertain: Beijing is now pressuring domestic firms to buy local chips, which could erode Nvidia’s Chinese revenue share.”
Concerns about U.S. central bank independence also swirled after Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, whose firing President Donald Trump ordered on Monday, said she would file a lawsuit against his move.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.16 per cent in afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat, Germany’s DAX lost 0.15 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.57 per cent.
French stocks recovered following a sharp sell-off the previous day, after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou failed to win backing for his debt-reduction plan and called a confidence vote on Sept. 8, raising the risk of government collapse.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.30 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 1.27 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as investors watched for developments in the Ukraine war and weighed an industry report that showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Brent crude futures were down 18 US cents, or 0.3 per cent, at US$67.04 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 14 US cents, or 0.2 per cent, at US$63.11. Both contracts fell more than 2% on Tuesday.
Also in focus is Trump’s doubling of tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50 per cent, which took effect on Wednesday, over India’s Russian oil buying.
While there is no sign of supply disruption so far, uncertainty over whether the U.S. will target the oil flows is deterring some traders from taking new positions, said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS.
“That uncertainty in my view keeps some investors on the sidelines until more clarity emerges on the next steps of U.S. President Trump,” he said.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.5 per cent at US$3,376.99 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.16 US cents to 72.31 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.16 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.44 per cent to 98.66.
The euro lost 0.51 per cent to US$1.1584. The British pound lost 0.35 per cent to US$1.3431.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last flat at 4.276 per cent.
Economic news
China industrial profits
Germany consumer confidence
With Reuters and The Canadian Press