Before the Bell will pause tomorrow for the Canada Day holiday, and resume on Thursday.
Equities
Global markets were on the rise, headed for their best second-quarter performance in years on optimism about artificial intelligence and signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Wall Street futures turned lower after Dow hit a fresh record close yesterday.
TSX futures edged up as investors assessed April GDP data that came in a shade better than expected.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Nike Inc. and Constellation Brands Inc.
Some analysts are pinning their hopes on the coming earnings season to boost stocks, especially after the punishing selloff last week in semiconductors and tech shares.
“Technology has been experiencing a period of June gloom, but that could easily reverse as earnings season approaches,” said Brian Levitt, chief global market strategist at Invesco.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.85 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.74 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.27 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.27 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.86 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.86 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied with investors eyeing potential U.S.-Iran talks in Doha amid a strained interim ceasefire in the four-month-old war.
Brent August crude futures were up 0.12 per cent to US$73.24 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 0.38 per cent to US$71.02 a barrel.
“Investors are pricing in hopes of a positive outcome from the Doha talks, even though real normalization of flows through the Strait of Hormuz is not yet visible,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“The market is cautiously hopeful but still hedging its bets until we see more tangible signs of de-escalation,” he added.
In other commodities, spot gold inched up 0.4 per cent to US$4,031.29 an ounce, after touching its lowest level since November 2025 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for August delivery lost 0.2 per cent to trade at US$4,045.30.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.18 US cents to 70.43 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.73 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.26 per cent to 101.37. The dollar was pegged at $1.4228.
The euro dropped 0.22 per cent to US$1.1398. The British pound slid 0.32 per cent to US$1.3214.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.392 per cent.
Economic news
China purchasing manager surveys for June. Japan employment and industrial production data for May
Germany employment and inflation data. France inflation and consumer spending data. Italy inflation data and UK GDP data
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada GDP for April, which rose 0.5 from March compared with a consensus estimate of a 0.4 per cent gain.
9 a.m. ET: U.S. house price indexes
10 a.m. ET: U.S. job openings & labour turnover survey
10 a.m. ET: U.S. conference board consumer confidence index
With Reuters and The Canadian Press