Equities
Global markets were muted as investors took a breather after consecutive sessions of gains on rising hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut next month.
Wall Street markets were closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
TSX futures edged higher after resource stocks helped push Canada’s main stock market to another record close yesterday.
“As long as your main engine is going nicely, then a lot of the worries about valuations just get pushed up to the back foot for the time being, until something else comes along,” IG chief markets strategist Chris Beauchamp said.
He added that the most likely catalyst to derail a rally would come in the form of renewed concern over spending on AI, as has been the case for weeks.
“That is the market’s kryptonite at the moment,” he said
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 were up 0.12 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.22 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.28 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.15 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.23 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.07 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as markets weighed talks to end the war in Ukraine against the impact of Western sanctions against Russian supply, though trading was set to remain thin due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Brent crude futures rose 0.1 per cent to US$63.18 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.3 per cent to US$58.81 a barrel.
“Oil is inching lower this morning largely on hopes of a Ukraine peace breakthrough and a broader unwinding of the war-premium, but the market still feels thin and directionless ahead of the OPEC+ meeting and the U.S. Thanksgiving lull,” said Phillip Nova’s senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.2 per cent to US$4,156.89 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.2 per cent to US$4,154.40 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.16 US cents to 71.29 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.41 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, advanced 0.03 per cent to 99.62.
The euro declined 0.05 per cent to US$1.1589. The British pound fell 0.03 per cent to US$1.3237.
U.S. bond markets are closed for holiday.
Economic news
China industrial profits
Euro zone adjusted private sector credit and economic confidence
ECB minutes from Oct. 29-30 meeting were released, showing policymakers were in no hurry to cut rates when they met as uncertainty remained high and some even thought that no more easing would be needed.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s current account balance for Q3.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s payroll survey: job vacancy rate for September.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press