Equities
Global stocks edged higher as traders around the world watched economic data and upcoming elections.
Wall Street’s main indexes were steady at the start of a holiday-shortened trading session. Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04 per cent shortly after the open to 39,346.29, the S&P 500 was up 0.18 per cent at 5,518.84 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.18 per cent at 18,060.78.
The U.S. equity market will close early on Wednesday and stay shut on Thursday on account of U.S. Independence Day, keeping trading volumes thin throughout the week.
Canada’s main stock index jumped to its monthly high, with the S&P/TSX composite index up 1.24 per cent at 22,226 just before 10:30 a.m.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from beer, wine and spirits maker Constellation Brands. Traders also were also digesting data pointing to an easing labour market while looking ahead to more data and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting minutes.
“It’s quite a strong unemployment claims number, and it’s fitting in with an overall trend that’s probably an indication of loosening up in the jobs market. It must be quite welcoming for the Fed,” said David Morrison, Trade Nation senior market analyst.
Overseas in Europe, investors are bracing for Britain’s national election on Thursday and the second round of voting in France’s parliamentary elections Sunday.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.77 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 increased 0.55 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 1.15 per cent and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.35 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was up 1.26 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished higher by 1.18 per cent. Markets have been watching for signs of Japanese authorities intervening in the currency market to prop up the frail yen.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied, as Brent crude futures edged up 0.16 per cent to US$86.38 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.17 per cent to US$82.95 per barrel.
On Tuesday, both benchmarks had risen to two-month highs, but later declined as fears faded that Hurricane Beryl would disrupt production in the Gulf of Mexico. New data on U.S. crude inventories also influenced price moves.
“This decline in crude levels might just have saved more of a sell-off after the hurricane news,” PVM Oil analyst John Evans said in a note.
Spot gold was up 1.4 per cent at US$2,362.32 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.05 US cents to 73.43 US cents. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.48 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was down 0.49 per cent to 105.20.
The euro rose 0.54 per cent to US$1.0805. The British pound gained 0.64 per cent to US$1.2766.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note declined slightly to 4.346 per cent.
Economic news
China, Japan and Euro zone services and composite PMI
(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP National Employment Report for June.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s merchandise trade balance for May.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of June 29. Estimate is 162,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods and services trade balance for May.
(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global Services PMI for June.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. factory orders for May. Consensus is a rise of 0.3 per cent from April.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. ISM Services PMI for June.
(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Fed minutes released from June 11-12 meeting.
Earnings include: Constellation Brands Inc.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press