Equities
Global stocks were mostly lower as markets paused after a wobble in tech stocks last week that could resume or reverse when US$5-trillion chipmaker Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday.
Wall Street futures were in negative territory in volatile trading: Dow futures were down 0.14 per cent, S&P 500 futures slid 0.11 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 0.09 per cent lower as of 9 a.m. ET.
TSX futures pointed lower as investors assessed the inflation report for October in line with forecasts: The consumer price index eased to an annualized 2.2 per cent as gasoline prices dropped, food prices slipped and mortgage interest costs came down, data showed.
The headline U.S. data release this week will be Thursday’s delayed September jobs report. The figures may be too stale to be of much use, since private surveys have already flagged a labour market slowdown.
“If all it does is confirm that, it’s not going to change the tune of the more hawkish Fed officials. They are more worried about inflation upside risks, so CPI data for them will be critical,” said ANZ’s head of research in Asia, Khoon Goh.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.61 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.12 per cent, Germany’s DAX slid 0.94 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.65 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.1 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.71 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as loadings resumed at Russia’s Novorossiysk export hub after a two-day suspension at the Black Sea port that had been hit by a Ukrainian attack.
Brent crude futures climbed 1 per cent to US$64.46 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at US$60.12 a barrel, up 1 per cent.
“Investors are trying to gauge how Ukraine’s attacks will affect Russia’s crude exports in the long term, while also locking in profits after last Friday’s rally,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
“Over all, the perception of oversupply from OPEC+ production increases remains,” he said, adding that WTI is likely to stay near US$60 a barrel, fluctuating within a US$5 range.
In other commodities, spot gold was steady at US$4,077.57 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.3 per cent to US$4,080.10 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.21 US cents to 71.35 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.1 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.17 per cent to 99.47.
The euro declined 0.24 per cent to US$1.1596. The British pound advanced 0.03 per cent to US$1.3174.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.138 per cent.
Economic news
Japan real GDP and industrial production
5 a.m. ET: Canadian existing home sales and average prices.
5 a.m. ET: Canada’s MLS Home Price Index for October. Estimate is a year-over-year drop of 3.5 per cent.
8:15 a.m. ET: Canadian housing starts for October.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian CPI for October.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian international securities transactions for September.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s new motor vehicle sales for September.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press