Equities
Global markets were mixed as crunch time neared for a divided Federal Reserve policy board and earnings results that could test sky-high valuations in the AI sector.
Wall Street futures turned lower ahead of Fed interest rate announcement this afternoon.
TSX futures were down ahead of the Bank of Canada’s rate policy decision later this morning.
The BoC is expected to end the year back on the sidelines, likely holding interest rates steady after a string of surprisingly sturdy economic data, economics reporter Mark Rendell writes.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Transcontinental Inc., Major Drilling Group International Inc. and Roots Corp.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Oracle Corp., Adobe Inc. and Synopsys Inc.
“Everybody knows the Federal Reserve will announce a 25 [basis-point] rate cut today,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.
“What we don’t know is what Fed members are planning for next year. How many cuts they anticipate, and whether their projections will convince markets to react accordingly."
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.12 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.28 per cent, Germany’s DAX gave back 0.51 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.42 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.1 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.48 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices held steady after falling about 1 per cent yesterday, as investors watched for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and awaited the Fed decision.
Brent crude futures were up 0.1 per cent to US$62.01 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude were 0.2 per cent higher to US$58.35 a barrel.
“Oil markets are currently struggling for direction as far as we can see, with a minor lift from falling U.S. inventories as reported by API,” said Suvro Sarkar, lead energy analyst at DBS Bank, referring to the American Petroleum Institute.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to US$4,193.60 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for February delivery slid 0.3 per cent to US$4,221.60 an ounce.
Silver cleared the US$60 barrier to reach a record US$61.45 an ounce. The metal has more than doubled in price this year as inventories dwindled and a bullish trend drew demand from momentum funds.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.14 US cents to 72.27 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 1.13 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slipped 0.07 per cent to 99.15.
The euro rose 0.03 per cent to US$1.1629. The British pound gained 0.05 per cent to US$1.3305.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.206 per cent.
Other corporate news
A tentative agreement reached hours before a strike deadline averted a work stoppage by Air Transat’s pilots last night.
Economic news
China CPI and PPI
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. employment cost index for Q3. The Street expects a rise of 0.9 per cent from Q2 and up 3.7 per cent year-over-year.
9:45 a.m. ET: Bank of Canada policy announcement with governor Tiff Macklem’s press conference to follow.
2 p.m. ET: U.S. budget balance.
2 p.m. ET: U.S. Fed announcement and summary of economic projections with chairman Jerome Powell’s press briefing to follow.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press