Equities
Global markets were mostly higher as investors tried to find footing amid uncertainty about the tight U.S. presidential race and conflict in the Middle East, while getting some lift from corporate earnings.
Wall Street was mixed at the open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher, recovering from a selloff in the previous session, as gains in Tesla shares after its optimistic earnings forecast lifted indexes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24 per cent to 42,411.30, the S&P 500 rose 0.35 per cent to 5,817.8, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.59 per cent to 18,384.155 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.06 per cent higher at 24,589.42, as gains in energy and technology stocks were countered by losses in mining and consumer stocks.
In Canada, investors are considering results from Rogers Communications Inc. and Teck Resources Ltd.
On Wall Street, markets are eyeing earnings from Capital One Financial Corp., Honeywell International Inc., Union Pacific Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc.
Growing expectations that U.S. Federal Reserve would slow down the pace of monetary easing is also pushing investors to the sidelines.
“Activity on Fed funds futures assess around 92 per cent chance for a 25[-basis-point] cut in the November meeting, but there is a mounting speculation that the Fed could make a pause to its nascent loosening policy in December,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.48 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.74 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.67 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.1 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.3 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices were broadly stable as uncertainty about conflict in the Middle East and reports of North Korean troops ready to help Russia in Ukraine kept traders on edge ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Brent crude futures were up 0.4 per cent to US$75.25 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 0.5 per cent to US$71.10.
“The opposing forces of economic anxiety, loose oil balance and potential war-related supply disruptions will ensure that no clear oil price direction emerges in the immediate future whilst the risk remains skewed to the downside in the medium term,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.8 per cent to US$2,739.09 an ounce, after pulling back from the record high of US$2,758.37 hit yesterday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.8 per cent to US$2,751.70.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.23 US cents to 72.40 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.55 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, fell 0.24 per cent to 104.19.
The euro advanced 0.12 per cent to US$1.0795. The British pound gained 0.4 per cent to US$12975.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.199 per cent.
Other corporate news
Seven & i Holdings held an “investor day” in Japan today, laying out a growth plan that focused on its core 7-Eleven convenience stores and avoiding any mention of the US$47-billion takeover bid from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Rogers Communications is raising $7-billion in “structured equity” to reduce its debt, in a deal that will give a financial investor a minority stake in a portion of the company’s regional wireless network.
Canadian miner Teck Resources is cutting its full year forecast yet again owing to setbacks at multiple mines, including at its giant QB2 copper operation in Chile.
United Parcel Service has reported a rise in third-quarter profit, as rebounding volumes ahead of the holiday season lifted revenues, while cost cuts helped offset the margin hit from consumers shifting to cheaper delivery options.
Economic news
Japan PMI and machine tool orders
Euro zone PMI, which showed Euro zone business activity stalled again this month, remaining in contractionary territory as demand from both home and abroad fell despite firms barely increasing their prices, according to the latest survey.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Oct. 19, which unexpectedly fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000. Estimate had been 260,000, up 19,000 from the previous week.
(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for October.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for September. The Street is projecting an annualized rate decline of 0.4 per cent.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press