Equities
Global markets were reversing course after early losses as investors considered the impact of key U.S. jobs data for August on the size of the expected U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut on Sept. 18.
Wall Street’s main indexes were subdued at the open as U.S. employment increased less than expected in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at the open at 40756.81, the S&P 500 rose 0.07 per cent to 5507.33, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.06 per cent to 17137.619 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.1 per cent higher at 23,011.98 as Canada’s August job numbers edged up to 6.6 per cent.
In Canada, investors are getting results from BRP Inc., which has reported its second-quarter profit and revenue fell compared with a year ago and cut its guidance for the year as it said it faced a challenging retail environment.
“Many investors believe that today’s job figures could be pivotal in determining whether the Fed will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points at its meeting later this month,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note. “Why this data is so important? Above all, it is because the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that a further weakness in the jobs market is undesired.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat, Germany’s DAX declined 0.4 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.18 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.72 per cent lower, while trading on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was cancelled due to a typhoon alert.
No let-up: World market themes for the week ahead
Commodities
Oil prices edged higher but were on track for a weekly loss despite a delay to supply increases by OPEC+ producers.
Brent crude futures rose 0.81 per cent to US$73.28 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 0.97 per cent to US$69.82.
In other commodities, gold prices hovered near a one-week high and were on track for weekly gains. Spot gold were steady at US$2,518.34 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 per cent to US$2,548.10.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.93 US cents to 74.26 US cents. The Canadian dollar was up about 1.75 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was little changed at 101.05.
The euro was down 0.13 per cent to US$1.1098. The British pound edged lower to US$1.3180.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was flat at 3.732 per cent.
Other corporate news
The Japanese parent of the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores has rejected a bid from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., saying the proposal, which would have been the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese business in history, grossly undervalues the company.
Economic news
China foreign reserves
Japan household spending
Euro zone real GDP
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian employment for August. The economy added a net of 22,100 jobs compared with estimates of 25,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 6.6 per cent, compared with forecasts of 6.5 per cent.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. nonfarm payrolls for August, which increased by 142,000 while the unemployment rate slid to 4.2 per cent. Consensus was for a gain of 165,000, with the unemployment rate falling 0.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent.
(10 a.m. ET) Canadian Ivey PMI for August.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press