Equities
Global markets were lower as investors awaited a slew of corporate earnings and braced for turbulence ahead of the U.S. election and amid uncertainty in the Middle East.
U.S. stock indexes opened lower as rising Treasury yields pressured rate-sensitive shares, while investors parsed the latest set of company results to gauge the health of major corporations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 per cent to 42,876.84, the S&P 500 slid 0.36 per cent to 5,832.7, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.48 per cent to 18,451.861 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.16 per cent lower at 24,682.72, hurt by losses in technology stocks.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Canadian National Railway Co.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from General Motors Co., Freeport-McMoRan Inc., GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp., Philip Morris International Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and 3M Co.
“The next two weeks are set to be a wild ride. Volatility has surged across stocks, bonds, and currencies as investors brace for a perfect storm of risks: a hotly contested U.S. election, critical interest-rate decisions in both the U.S. and Europe, the looming threat of a wider Middle East conflict, and the ever-present pressure of quarterly earnings,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note.
“In the stock market, implied volatility is running way ahead of interday trade ranges and realized volatility, signalling that traders are prepping for turbulence.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.56 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.52 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.12 per cent and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.37 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.39 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched 0.1 per cent higher.
Commodities
Oil prices were on the rise, extending gains from the previous session as investors weighed the impact of China’s stimulus measures to boost its economy, and concerns over tension in the Middle East persisted.
Brent crude futures for December delivery were up 0.92 per cent at US$74.97 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December gained 1 per cent to $71.22 a barrel.
“Crude oil prices have been fluctuating in response to mixed news from the Middle East, as the situation alternates between escalation and de-escalation,” Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities, said.
In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to US$2,732.06 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures climbed 0.3 per cent to US$2,746.50.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.25 US cents to 72.35 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.9 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.07 per cent to 103.94.
The euro was flat at US$1.0818. The British pound slid 0.08 per cent to US$1.2974.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.191 per cent ahead.
Other corporate news
General Motors has posted third-quarter results that beat analyst projections on the back of steady gasoline-engine truck and SUV sales and a focus on keeping inventories lean.
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has joined rival RTX in lifting annual profit and sales forecasts, driven by strong demand for military equipment amid escalating global tensions.
Verizon has added more wireless subscribers than expected in the third quarter as the U.S. telecom giant’s promotional offers and plans that bundle 5G with streaming services like Netflix helped attract customers.
U.S. industrial conglomerate 3M Co. has raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast, anticipating a boost in consumer spending after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs in September.
Economic news
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s industrial product and raw materials price indexes for September. Estimates are month-over-month declines of 0.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively.
(3:15 p.m. ET) ECB president Christine Lagarde speaks in Washington
With Reuters and The Canadian Press