Equities
Global markets held steady ahead of results after the closing bell from artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia that could swing its stock price tomorrow, along with investor sentiment.
Wall Street’s main indexes were flat at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than a point to 41,250.17, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02 per cent to 5,624.51, and Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.09 per cent to 17,738.80 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.32 per cent lower at 23,185.29, weighed down by losses in energy and mining stocks.
RBC has surpassed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit as it set aside a smaller than expected sum to protect itself against losses on bad loans.
National Bank of Canada also has posted profits that exceeded analysts expectations, a week ahead of a key vote on its proposed $5-billion takeover of rival Canadian Western Bank.
In addition to Nvidia, Wall Street investors are watching results from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., EQB Inc. and HP Inc.
The results at the “so-called ‘most important company in the world,’ ” stand between Wall Street and fresh record highs, noted Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda, and set the tone for the sector.
“The company’s revenue and sales guidance is a barometer of AI capex, with inferences to be drawn about the health of the other mega-cap tech names,” he said.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.44 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.11 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.49 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.22 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.02 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices retreated on persistent concern over Chinese demand and elevated risks of a broader slowdown, though the decline was capped by potential supply losses from the Middle East and Libya.
Brent crude futures were down 0.96 per cent to US$78.79 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 1.02 per cent to US$74.76.
“Supply risks in Libya have come to the fore but market participants seem sanguine ... demand in China remains weak and the expected second-half rebound has yet to show credible signs of commencing,” Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh said in a note.
In other commodities, gold fell under pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar. Spot gold was down 1 per cent to US$2,500.03 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 per cent to US$2,543.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 74.18 US cents to 74.41 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 2.49 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.58 per cent to 101.14.
The euro declined 0.65 per cent to US$1.1113. The British pound slid 0.47 per cent to US$1.3198.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last flat at 3.832 per cent.
Economic news
Euro zone private sector credit
Germany and France consumer confidence
With Reuters and The Canadian Press