Equities
Global markets rebounded after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned tariff threats linked to Greenland and ruled out using force to seize the autonomous Danish territory.
Wall Street futures were in the black as investors assessed fresh economic data that pointed to a resilient U.S. economy. Dow futures were up 0.41 per cent, S&P 500 futures gained 0.6 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 0.91 per cent higher at 9:15 a.m. ET.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Novagold Resources Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Procter & Gamble Co., GE Aerospace, Intel Corp., Abbott Laboratories, Capital One Financial Corp., CSX Corp., Alcoa Corp. and Freeport McMoran Inc.
But “the chaos is far from over and there’ll be ongoing volatility in the markets because of the Trump administration’s erratic foreign policy,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
Analysts also cautioned against complacency and urged investors to remain wary as tariff threats become an increasingly normalized negotiating tactic.
“The hidden risk is complacency. Investors get conditioned to ignore threats because ‘it’ll get walked back,’ until the day it doesn’t get walked back,” said Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.93 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 1.01 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.98 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.73 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.17 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices dropped after Trump softened threats against Greenland and Iran, and as investors assessed the supply and demand outlook.
Brent crude was down 1.92 per cent to US$63.99 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery declined 2.05 per cent to US$59.38 a barrel.
“There is a deflation of risk premium related to the Greenland debacle and Iran supply risk has also been reduced,” said Ole Hansen, chief commodity analyst at Saxo Bank.
In other commodities, spot gold eased 0.2 per cent to US$4,825.22 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for February delivery declined 0.2 per cent to US$4,827.80 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.22 US cents to 72.44 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.77 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.14 per cent to 98.62.
The euro rose 0.26 per cent to US$1.1716. The British pound fell 0.12 per cent to US$1.3413.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.258 per cent.
Economic news
Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting (through Friday)
Japan trade balance
Euro zone consumer confidence
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s new housing price indexes. Analysts expect a decline of 0.1 per cent month-over-month and 2.0 per cent year-over-year.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Jan. 17, which edged up to 200,000, compared with the forecasted 205,000.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. real GDP for the third quarter, which grew at an annual rater of 4.4 per cent, compared with estimates of a 4.3 per cent rise.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. pre-tax corporate profits for Q3. The Street expects a year-over-year gain of 9.1 per cent.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. personal spending and income for November. The consensus projections are month-over-month gains of 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. core PCE price index for November. The Street is forecasting a month-over-month gain of 0.2 per cent and year-over-year rise of 2.7 per cent.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press