Equities
Global markets eased as fading hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal kept investors on edge, while a red-hot rally in chip stocks cooled.
Wall Street futures were mixed as investors assessed April inflation numbers, which rose at a brisk clip, bolstering expectations the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged for a while.
TSX futures pointed lower.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Constellation Software Inc., George Weston Ltd., Power Corp. of Canada, Franco-Nevada Corp., Finning International Inc. and Peyto Exploration & Development Corp.
Weston said in its press release that it is increasing its quarterly common share dividend by 8 per cent.
Markets are also keeping an eye on U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China, which begins tomorrow, with expectations low for either progress on Iran or on the trade front.
“Investors should not expect sweeping agreements. A ‘win’ would mean no new tariffs or export controls, and perhaps small symbolic deals, such as agricultural purchases, aircraft orders, or signals on rare earths,” said Daniel Casali, chief investment strategist at Evelyn Partners.
“These may seem minor, but stability at the margin matters.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.74 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4 per cent, Germany’s DAX fell 0.82 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.54 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.52 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.22 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose as hopes for a deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran dimmed, bringing supply concerns again to the fore.
Brent crude futures were up 2.8 per cent at US$107.20 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 2.7 per cent to US$100.70.
“Optimism regarding an imminent [peace] deal seems to be fading again and if we don’t see a deal by the end of May, then upside risks for oil prices are definitely on the table,” said DBS Bank energy sector team lead Suvro Sarkar.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.8 per cent to US$4,696.07 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery lost 0.5 per cent to trade at US$4,703.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.93 US cents to 73.15 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.44 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.33 per cent to 98.28. The dollar was pegged at $1.3707.
The euro slid 0.33 per cent to US$1.1745. The British pound dropped 0.52 per cent to US$1.3540.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.437 per cent.
Economic news
Japan’s household spending
Germany’s CPI
6 a.m. ET: U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for April.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. CPI for April, which rose 0.6 per cent from March as expected and 3.8 per cent year-over-year.
2 p.m. ET: U.S. budget balance for April.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press