Equities
Global stocks climbed despite a more muted European open, as investors weighed Middle East tensions and awaited the highly anticipated Nasdaq debut of South Korean chip bellwether SK Hynix.
Wall Street futures were mixed, with the Nasdaq pointing lower, after major North American markets closed higher yesterday.
TSX futures were in positive territory as markets eyed key jobs numbers for June, which were slightly better than expected.
In Canada, investors are getting results from MTY Food Group Inc. The restaurant franchiser and operator said plans to close 68 underperforming corporate-owned locations over the next nine months as it reported its second-quarter profit and revenue fell compared with a year ago.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Delta Air Lines Inc.
“The level of concentration build-up and momentum behind chipmakers (or anything that has to do with AI) has caused real distortion and dispersion in markets is beyond anything I have seen in my career,” said Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at St. James’s Place.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.12 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.05 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.04 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.2 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.61 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose, remaining on track for weekly gains, as renewed U.S.-Iran fighting disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, stoking concerns over supply disruptions.
Brent futures were up 0.5 per cent to US$76.68 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 0.3 per cent to US$72.30.
For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about 6 per cent and WTI was on track for an increase of about 5 per cent.
“Prices have backed off the midweek highs, but there is still a substantial risk premium as Hormuz transits are back to a near-standstill with no clear signs of when normal reopening might resume,” said Vandana Hari at oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to US$4,105.97 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery slid 0.6 per cent to US$4,114.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.48 US cents to 70.75 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.12 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.03 per cent to 100.88. The dollar was pegged at $1.4148.
The euro was down 0.03 per cent to US$1.1427. The British pound advanced 0.08 per cent to US$1.3419.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.547 per cent.
Economic news
Germany’s CPI
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian employment for June. The economy added 18,200 jobs, compared with an estimated 10,000 job gain. The unemployment rate ticked down to 6.5 per cent, compared with the 6.6 per cent consensus.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian building permits for May.
Also: U.S. Fed’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report is released.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press