Equities
Global markets slid with investors aggressively booking profits following strong tech-led rallies over recent weeks.
Wall Street futures were in negative territory after a mixed close on U.S. markets yesterday. Dow futures were down 0.7 per cent, S&P futures declined 1.05 per cent, and Nasdaq futures were 1.36 per cent lower as of 7:40 a.m. ET.
TSX futures followed sentiment lower ahead of the federal budget being tabled this afternoon.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Shopify Inc., Thomson Reuters Corp., Suncor Energy Inc., Fortis Inc., Dream Industrial REIT, Iamgold Corp., Kinross Gold Corp. and Intact Financial Corp.
Shopify has recorded higher revenue, income and profit for its third quarter, and projected fourth-quarter earnings that exceed analyst expectations for the busy holiday season.
Thomson Reuters has reported higher revenue for the third quarter on Tuesday, boosted by investments in artificial intelligence products in its legal and tax and accounting divisions.
Fortis has raised its quarterly dividend to 64 cents a share from 61.5 cents and reported a third-quarter profit of $409-million.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Amgen Inc., Pfizer Inc., Spotify Technology SA, Marriott International Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc.,
“People are turning cautious about these circular transactions around AI, with Nvidia at the centre of everything,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.
“It’s concerns about all the capex that’s been spent, without knowing where the revenue is going to come from.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.77 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 1.09 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.91 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.74 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.79 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell as OPEC+’s decision to pause output hikes in the first quarter next year along with weak manufacturing data and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on the market.
Brent crude futures dropped 1.2 per cent to US$64.13 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 1.3 per cent to US$60.24 a barrel.
“The succession of poor manufacturing PMIs from Asia and then the U.S. ISM is a worry for oil demand. So is the ever-present market-upsetting tariff threat,” said John Evans, analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
“The renaissance of the U.S. dollar is another suppressant for oil prices at the moment and we anticipate a resumption of a grind lower in the here and now.”
In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$3,994.47 an ounce after declining 0.9 per cent earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.2 per cent to US$4,004.70 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.99 US cents to 71.16 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.92 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, climbed 0.19 per cent to 100.06.
The euro slid 0.26 per cent to US$1.1490. The British pound dropped 0.62 per cent to US$1.3059.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.096 per cent.
Economic news
Japan releases manufacturing PMI
With Reuters and The Canadian Press