Equities
Global markets sank as the highly anticipated U.S. jobs report failed to provide clarity on the near-term path for interest rates, with investors dumping risk assets even after Nvidia’s earnings dazzled.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets closed sharply lower yesterday, while TSX futures pointed slightly higher.
“There is no doubt that the U.S. tech sector has many bubble-like characteristics ... but this does not mean that prices have to pop,” said Diana Mousina, deputy chief economist at AMP. “The bubble could just deflate a bit.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.43 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.09 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.43 per cent and France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.03 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.4 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.38 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell, extending declines for a third session as the United States pushed for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal that could swell global supply while uncertainty over interest rates curbed investors’ risk appetite.
Brent crude futures dropped 0.6 per cent to US$62.98 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.9 per cent at US$58.50.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would work with Washington on a plan to end the war.
“With the news of talks coming just as U.S. sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies are due to take effect today, oil markets saw some relief on risks to Russian oil supply,” said Jim Reid, a managing director at Deutsche Bank.
But “an accord is far from certain,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients, adding that Kyiv has repeatedly dismissed Russia’s demands as unacceptable.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.9 per cent to US$4,039.79 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery dipped 0.6 per cent to US$4,037.10 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.84 US cents to 71.02 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.66 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was little changed at 100.18.
The euro slipped 0.03 per cent to US$1.1525. The British pound advanced 0.11 per cent to US$1.3087.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.066 per cent.
Economic news
Japan CPI and PMI
Euro zone PMI and negotiated wages
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian retail sales for September, which fell 0.7 per cent from the previous month, in line with expectations.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s new housing price index for October. Consensus is a month-over-month decline of 0.2 per cent and year-over-year drop of 1.8 per cent.
9:45 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Global PMIs for November.
S10 a.m. ET: U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey for November.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press