Equities
Global stocks were mostly higher in cautious trading as markets eyed European central bank interest rate announcements and crucial U.S. inflation data.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major U.S. markets closed lower yesterday as AI spending jitters weighed on tech stocks. Dow futures were up 0.38 per cent, S&P futures rose 0.61 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 1.09 per cent higher at 8:30 a.m. ET.
TSX futures edged higher after Canada’s main stock market closed down yesterday.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Transat AT Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd.
Transat has posted its first annual profit since 2018, as revenue rose and a government agreement reduced its pandemic bailout debt.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Accenture PLC, Cintas Corp., FedEx Corp. and Nike Inc.
“Softer [U.S. inflation] figures should keep [Federal Reserve rate] cut bets alive, supporting equities and bonds and weighing on the dollar, while stronger-than-expected data would threaten dovish Fed expectations, weighing on equities and bonds and boosting the dollar,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.26 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.18 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.3 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.17 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.03 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.12 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as investors assessed the likelihood of further U.S. sanctions against Russia and the supply risks posed by a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.
Brent crude rose 0.5 per cent to US$59.99 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 0.7 per cent at $56.34 a barrel.
Further measures targeting Russian oil could pose an even bigger supply risk to the market than U.S. President Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement that the U.S. would blockade sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, ING analysts said in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to US$4,324.47 an ounce. U.S. gold futures eased 0.4 per cent to US$4,355.70.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.49 US cents to 72.63 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 2.22 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, climbed 0.15 per cent to 98.52.
The euro declined 0.19 per cent to US$1.17.19. The British pound advanced 0.12 per cent to US$1.3390.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.145 per cent.
Other corporate news
Activist investor Elliott Management has amassed a stake of more than US$1-billion in Lululemon Athletica and is lining up a potential CEO candidate as it pushes to revive the struggling athletic apparel retailer, media reports say.
Economic news
Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting (through Friday)
Bank of England monetary policy meeting: The BoE cut interest rates to 3.75 per cent after a narrow vote by policymakers but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further.
ECB monetary policy meeting: The European Central Bank kept its key rates unchanged, as expected.
7 a.m. ET: Canada’s CFIB Business Barometer for December.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s job vacancy rate for October.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. CPI for November, which came in at an annual rate of 2.7 per cent, lower that the 3.1-per-cent forecasts.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Dec. 13. Estimate is 225,000, down 11,000 from the previous week.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. Philadelphia Fed Index for December.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. current account deficit for Q3.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. leading indicator for November.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press