Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Equities

Global markets were mixed in cautious trading amid earnings-packed week and ahead of central bank rate decisions.

Wall Street futures were little changed major North American markets closed higher yesterday.

TSX futures were flat.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Precision Drilling Corp. and Trican Well Service Ltd.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Boeing Co. Coca-Cola Co., Visa Inc., Waste Management Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Inc., United Parcel Service Inc., Ecolab Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc. and Robinhood Markets Inc.

While market reaction to Anthropic’s IPO filing yesterday was positive, “the concerns behind the latest AI selloff remain well intact,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.

“Investors worry about the huge investments being thrown at AI infrastructure and massive commitments; they worry that the return on investment could take more time than previously thought – or never come ... They also worry about rising leverage in financing these investments when interest rates are expected to rise.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.35 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.87 per cent, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.09 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.27 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.73 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.73 per cent.

Commodities

Oil prices turned positive after a fall of about 1 per cent ‌earlier in the session as the chance of talks in Tehran eased fears of a broader Middle East supply shock, while renewed Houthi attacks on ⁠Saudi Arabia ​highlighted persistent risks.

Brent crude futures was up 0.74 per cent at US$116.7 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.8 per cent to US$102.60.

“Prices ‌remain ​elevated amid persistent geopolitical ‌uncertainties,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based ​research firm, adding that some profit taking earlier ⁠in the session was fuelled by hopes of a ⁠breakthrough in talks between the US and Iran.

In other commodities, spot gold eased 0.3 per cent to US$4,004.55 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.5 per cent to US$4,017.00.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 71.27 US cents to 71.38 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 1.23 per cent against the greenback over the past month. It traded at $1.4019 per US$1.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.23 per cent to 102.19.

The euro declined 0.18 per cent to US$1.1154. The British pound fell 0.13 per cent to US$1.3324.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.989 per cent.

Economic news

China’s industrial profits

Euro zone private sector credit

8 a.m. ET: U.S. building permits for September.

8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. durable and core goods orders for September. The Street expects month-over-month increases of 1.0 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

9 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 city) for August.

9 a.m. ET: U.S. FHFA House Price Index for August.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for October.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. new home sales for September.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press