Equities
Global markets were mostly lower as investors weighed the U.S. interest rate outlook after a week of mixed signals and political turmoil in Europe.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower, with investors pausing after strong rallies on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as they considered hawkish Federal Reserve projections against the backdrop of a cooling economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31 per cent to 38,528.39, the S&P 500 slid 0.18 per cent to 5,424.08, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.26 per cent to 17,621.18 at the bell.
Canada’s main stock index was on track for its fourth straight week of losses, with the S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.41 per cent at 21,609.00 at the open.
“The European markets remained under the pressure of tense political environment in France and a 3-per-cent slump in April manufacturing production across the Eurozone,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.7 per cent in morning trading, while France’s CAC 40 was down 2.24 per cent, plunging to its lowest since February. Britain’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.02 per cent and Germany’s DAX declined 1.27 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.24 per cent higher at 38,814.56, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.94 per cent to 38,814.56.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as crude benchmarks headed for their best week in more than two months after solid projections for crude and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures were last up 0.46 per cent at US$83.13 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.34 per cent to trade at US$78.89 a barrel.
“Over all, this week can be characterized as a recovery effort for oil,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade based in Australia.
In other commodities, gold prices were on course for their first weekly gain in a month. Spot gold advanced 1.4 per cent to US$2,334.70 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart, which continued its climb in early trading.
The day range on the loonie was 72.60 US cents to 72.84 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was down about 1 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was up 0.47 per cent to 105.69, its highest in a month.
The euro was last down 0.4 per cent to US$1.0687, having earlier hit its lowest in more than six weeks. The British pound slid 0.3 per cent to US$1.27245.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note dipped to 4.237 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.
Economic news
Japan industrial production
Euro zone trade surplus
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales and new orders for April. Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.1 per cent to $70.8-billion in April, helped by gains in sales of transportation equipment.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for April, which Statscan say rose 2.4 per cent to $83.3-billion.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new motor vehicle sales for April. Estimate is a year-over-year rise of 15.0 per cent.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. import prices for May. The Street expects an increase of 0.1 per cent from April and 1.6 per cent year-over-year.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment for June.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press