Equities
Global markets were mixed after Samsung Electronics’ forecast triggered a reassessment of stretched valuations tied to the AI trade.
Wall Street futures were also mixed with the Dow pointing up after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed sharply higher yesterday.
TSX futures were in positive territory after Canada’s main stock market edged lower yesterday.
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, estimated April-June operating profit at about US$58.44-billion, an eye-popping 19-fold jump.
Still, South Korean shares slumped 8 per cent, triggering circuit breakers as Samsung lost 9.8 per cent, reflecting concerns over the durability of the AI-driven chip boom.
“While it would be healthier for share prices to move in line with business conditions and the real economy, those conditions do not change that rapidly,” Suehiro said in a note, adding that markets were therefore likely to remain range-bound.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100 index today, 15 days after its debut. Investors are awaiting a wave of reports from Wall Street brokerages making their first attempt to value SpaceX as a publicly traded company.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.09 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.67 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.12 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.51 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose as reports of attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz revived fears of disruptions to shipping through the critical energy transit route.
Brent crude futures gained 1.14 per cent to US$72.81 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1 per cent to US$69.24 a barrel.
“The overriding theme this morning is a ship being shot at in the Strait of Hormuz,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said. “That’s bringing some geopolitical risk premium back into the price. It’s not a lot compared with what we’ve seen in the past, but it’s the main driver behind the bid in the market.”
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.8 per cent to US$4,129.36 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery eased 0.6 per cent to US$4,140.90.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.30 US cents to 70.43 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.89 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.06 per cent to 100.92. The dollar was pegged at $1.4216.
The euro was little changed at US$1.1443. The British pound edged down 0.02 per cent to US$1.3391.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.494 per cent.
Economic news
China’s real cash earnings and household spending
Germany’s industrial production
8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP Employment (four-week average change)
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s merchandise trade balance for May. The surplus widened to a four-year high, rising for the fourth consecutive month, to $4.24-billion.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. goods and services trade deficit for May.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. global supply chain pressure index for June.
10 a.m. ET: Canada’s Ivey PMI for June.
Also: NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, through Wednesday.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press