Equities
A bounceback by tech stocks around the world helped drive equity markets higher and set the scene for Nvidia’s earnings report, while investors set aside their concerns around U.S. tariffs – at least for now.
Wall Street futures edged upward after markets closed higher on Tuesday. Dow futures were up 0.25 per cent, S&P 500 futures were up 0.26 per cent, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.36 per cent, as of 7:05 a.m. ET.
TSX futures advanced 0.27 per cent, as of 5:25 a.m. ET.
In Canada, Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada and Loblaw Companies Ltd. reported earnings. Investors are also getting results from CCL Industries Inc., EQB Inc., Northland Power Inc., Snowline Gold Corp., Stantec Inc., and WSP Global Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Ebay Inc., Hut 8 Corp., Lowe’s Companies Inc., Nvidia Corp. and TJX Companies Inc.
Optimism in equities comes even as investors grapple with a range of political and geopolitical worries.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said “almost all” countries and corporations want to stick to tariff and investment agreements previously made with Washington. But he did not offer clarity regarding his plans for Iran amid signs he is inching closer to a military conflict with Tehran.
We “believe the market is being fairly sanguine around geopolitical risks. While we do not anticipate a drawn-out conflict, any attack from the U.S. is likely to be met with response from Iran and produce some wobbles in risky assets,” said Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist at Jefferies.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.68 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.97 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.66 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.46 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.20 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 0.66 per cent higher.
Commodities
In commodities, oil prices held around seven-month highs.
Brent futures were up 33 US cents at US$71.10 a barrel. WTI futures gained 22 US cents to US$65.85.
“The market is trying to get a sense of what’s happening between the U.S. and Iran,” said SEB commodities analyst Ole Hvalbye. “If we did not have any sort of escalation or harsh rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran, (Brent) oil prices would probably trade between $60 and $65 per barrel.”
In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to US$5,175.00 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up 0.5 per cent at US$5,193.90.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.94 US cents to 73.14 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.01 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose slightly to 97.83.
The euro edged up 0.06 per cent to US$1.1781. The British pound gained 0.17 per cent to US$1.3513.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.055 per cent.
Other corporate news
Apotex Inc. plans to go public this year with a share sale worth up to $1-billion that will allow its private equity owner to cash in on the generic drugmaker it acquired after the murder of its founder, Barry Sherman, The Globe’s Andrew Willis and Sean Silcoff report.
Economic news
Euro zone and Germany’s CPI
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian wholesale trade for January.
Canada’s Capital Expenditure Survey for 2026
With Reuters and The Canadian Press