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Equities

Global markets were lower amid investor caution ahead of the U.S. election and uncertainty about the Middle East, while China’s anticipated benchmark rate cut did little to boost sentiment.

Wall Street’s main indexes edged lower at the open, pausing after gains in the previous week ahead of major earnings reports that could influence whether indexes retreat from record highs or sustain the momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12 per cent to 43,222.21, the S&P 500 slid 0.12 per cent to 5,857.82, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.18 per cent to 18,456.481 at the bell.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.23 per cent higher at 24,880.64, lifted by mining and energy shares..

Investors are looking ahead to the Bank of Canada’s next interest-rate decision on Wednesday. As The Globe’s Mark Rendell writes, the BoC “is widely expected to accelerate monetary-policy easing this week with an oversized interest-rate cut in response to weak economic growth and concerns that inflation could get stuck below the central bank’s target.”

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Nucor Corp., SAP SE and TFI International Inc.

“Investors are juggling their bets on the solid U.S. and hopefully recovering Chinese economies while global geopolitical tensions and looming U.S. election risk hang in the background like storm clouds,” Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was 0.42 per cent lower in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.15 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.7 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.68 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.07 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.57 per cent.

Commodities

Oil prices were on the rise, recouping some of last week’s more than 7-per-cent decline on worries about demand in China, the world’s top oil importer, and easing concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures were up 1.5 per cent to US$74.16 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1.8 per cent to US$70.48 a barrel.

“Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the positive oil demand comments from the CEO of Aramco are likely supporting oil prices,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.6 per cent at US$2,735.380 an ounce, after hitting an all-time high of US$2,736.86 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures were 0.7 per cent higher at US$2,750.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.31 US cents to 72.47 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up/down about 2 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, advanced 0.15 per cent to 103.65.

The euro slid 0.17 per cent to US$1.0851. The British pound dropped 0.18 per cent to US$1.3027.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.132 per cent.

Economic news

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for September. The Street is forecasting a decline of 0.3 per cent month-over-month.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. budget balance for September.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press

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