Equities
Global shares were mixed, buoyed by relief over the imminent end of the U.S. government shutdown, but tempered by worries about valuations in the technology sector.
Wall Street futures were also mixed after major U.S. markets closed sharply higher yesterday. Dow futures were up 0.05 per cent, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.2 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 0.5 per cent lower as of 9 a.m. ET.
TSX futures were flat.
In Canada, investors are getting results from CAE Inc., Orla Mining Ltd., Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund and Extendicare Inc.
“Obviously, the shutdown isn’t completely sorted yet. The House has got to get it through, but given the arithmetic of the House, that seems pretty certain,” Investec chief economist Philip Shaw said, referring to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
“The data deluge is going to be essentially a huge market event. One question is whether the data and the analysis by the Fed are consistent with each other,” he said.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.75 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.69 per cent, Germany’s DAX edged up 0.15per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.76 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.14 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.18 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose on the impact of the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, although oversupply concerns limited gains.
Brent crude futures gained 1.1 per cent to US$64.73. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at US$60.78 a barrel, up 1.1 per cent.
Restricted fuel exports as a result of the sanctions are propping up oil prices in the face of a crude oil glut, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.6 per cent at US$4,140.60 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.6 per cent to US$4,147.20 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.21 US cents to 71.36 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.22 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.08 per cent to 99.52.
The euro advanced 0.31 per cent to US$1.1595. The British pound dropped 0.05 per cent to US$1.3168.
Bond markets are closed in Canada for Remembrance Day and in the United States for Veterans Day.
Economic news
6 a.m. ET: U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for October
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP Employment (four-week average change) for October, which showed that private employers shed an average of 11,250 jobs a week for the four weeks ended Oct. 25.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press