Equities
Global markets were mixed as investors parsed testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell for indications on when interest rate cuts could begin.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 opened at record levels, supported by new gains in semiconductor and megacap technology stocks. The Dow Jones opened lower, down 0.31 per cent at 39,224.41. The S&P 500 advanced 0.21 per cent to 5,584.58 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36 per cent to 18,470.43.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index started the day in the red, down 0.18 per cent at 22,086.72, pulled lower by energy shares.
U.S. traders are also eyeing inflation data later this week and the start of earnings season, with three big banks set to report Friday.
Powell is appearing before Congress today and tomorrow, with investors betting that soft labour market data has boosted the chance of a rate cut in September to about 80 per cent.
“The first day of the testimony is always the most important day as we will get to catch the overall tone and the key messages,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, writes in a note.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 slid 0.69 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.47 per cent, Germany’s DAX gave back 1.02 per cent and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.28 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei index jumped 1.96 per cent, touching a record high, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed flat.
Commodities
Oil prices slipped after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had expected, easing concerns over supply disruption.
Brent futures fell 0.5 per cent to US$85.31 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 0.3 per cent to US$82.05
“Early indications suggest that most energy infrastructure has come through unscathed,” said ING analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey in a client note, adding that price action in crude oil and refined fuel markets reflect little concern on supply disruption from Hurricane Beryl.
In other commodities, gold prices were little changed as the U.S. dollar held firm. Spot gold rose 0.1 per cent to US$2,360.70 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures advanced 0.2 per cent to US$2,367.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.26 US cents to 73.38 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.86 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.1 per cent to 105.11.
The euro slid 0.07 per cent to US$1.0818. The British pound was flat at US$1.2808.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.927 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.
Other corporate news
Maple Leaf Foods says it plans to spin off its pork business into a new publicly traded company. Under the plan, which is subject to shareholder approval, existing Maple Leaf shareholders will receive shares in the new company, while Maple Leaf will keep a 19.9-per-cent ownership position.
Economic news
6 am ET: U.S. NFIB small business economic trends survey, which increased to a six-month high in June. But inflation worries lingered amid a rise in the share of owners planning to raise compensation for workers over the next three months.
10 am ET: U.S. Fed Chair Powell testifies to the Senate Banking Committee
With Reuters and The Canadian Press