Equities
Global markets were flat as investors awaited more economic data from the United States and euro zone to gauge the outlook for interest rates.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow were subdued at the open as investors parsed through mixed labour market data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20 per cent, the S&P 500 was flat at at 5520.08, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.12 per cent to 17063.237 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.44 per cent higher at 23,142.85 as mining and energy shares rose.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Broadcom Inc.
“The market is jittery,” Jefferies analyst Mohit Kumar said. But “we are keeping our modest long in risky assets despite recent moves. We do not see the (U.S.) economy slowing down as much as feared.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.23 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.06 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.24 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.53 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.05 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.07 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices firmed, edging up from multi-month lows on a possible delay to output increases by OPEC+ producers and a decline in U.S. inventories, though the gains were capped by persisting demand concerns.
Brent crude futures rose 0.9 per cent to US$73.36 a barrel after touching its lowest since December yesterday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 0.9 per cent at US$69.84.
In other commodities, spot gold advanced 1 per cent to US$2,518.92 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures gained 0.4 per cent to US$2,536.10.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.97 US cents to 74.06 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 1.69 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.17 per cent to 101.18.
The euro rose 0.1 per cent to US$1.1095. The British pound gained 0.09 per cent to US$1.3158.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 3.77 per cent.
Other corporate news
Japanese retail giant Seven & i will inform Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard that its takeover bid price is inadequate and it must reconsider the proposal, a source familiar with the matter said.
Rexall’s American owner McKesson has sold the pharmacy chain to Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners. The deal includes the brand’s brick-and-mortar pharmacies as well as the Well.ca e-commerce site. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Nvidia did not receive a U.S. Justice Department subpoena, a spokesperson said in a statement yesterday. “We have inquired with the U.S. Department of Justice and have not been subpoenaed. Nonetheless, we are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.”
Economic news
Japan real cash earnings
Euro zone retail sales
Germany factory orders, which unexpectedly rose in July. But the increase was flattered by some large orders, making economists doubtful the sluggish sector was on the cusp of a sustained upturn.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian labour productivity for Q2.
(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP National Employment Report for August, which registered 99,000 jobs, the smallest gain since January 2021. Estimates were for a month-over-month gain of 142,000 jobs.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Aug. 31, which dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000. That falls short of the estimated 235,000, up 4,000 from the previous week.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. productivity and unit labour costs for Q2. Consensus estimates are rises of 2.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, on an annualized rate basis.
(9:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for August.
(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global Services and Composite PMI for August.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. ISM Services PMI for August.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press