Equities
Global stocks were mixed as many markets in the euro zone and in China were closed for holiday.
Wall Street futures were muted after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq yesterday logged their biggest monthly gains in years.
TSX futures climbed after Canada’s main stock market posted its biggest daily gain in a month yesterday.
In Canada, investors are getting results from TC Energy Corp., Imperial Oil Ltd. and Magna International Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Colgate-Palmolive Co.
“As we enter May – traditionally a softer month – earnings resilience continues to offset geopolitical and inflation concerns,“ Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.
“AI optimism remains the base case unless geopolitics deteriorate.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.28 per cent, while Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.63 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.38 per cent higher.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied but remained on track for weekly gains as efforts to halt the Iran war remained at an impasse, with Tehran still blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. Navy blocking exports of Iranian crude.
Brent crude futures for July were up 0.5 per cent to US$111.00 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures eased 1 per cent to US$104.00.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 1.1 per cent to US$4,573.33 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell 1 per cent to US$4,585.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.58 US cents to 73.80 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 2.82 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 97.92. The U.S. dollar traded at $1.3564.
The euro climbed 0.23 per cent to US$1.1761. The British pound advanced 0.22 per cent to US$1.3633.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.394 per cent.
Economic news
Japan’s CPI, consumer confidence and manufacturing PMI
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s provincial GDP for 2025.
9:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for April.
9:45 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for April.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI for April.
Also: U.S. and Canadian auto sales for April.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press