Equities
Global markets were steady ahead of the hotly contested U.S. presidential election, bracing for volatile trading over the coming few sessions until a clear winner is declared.
Wall Street indexes opened higher as voting began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10 per cent to 41,835.49, the S&P 500 gained 0.17 per cent to 5,722.43, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39 per cent to 18,250.7 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.1 per cent at 24,232.93 at the open, hurt by consumer discretionary shares.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Thomson Reuters Corp., Fortis Inc., Restaurant Brands International Inc., Intact Financial Corp., Dream Industrial REIT, Kinross Gold Corp., MEG Energy Corp., Nuvei Inc., Pembina Pipeline Corp., TransAlta Corp. and Boardwalk REIT.
“Ultimately the U.S. election comes down to this - whether the U.S. electorate wants to vote for economic policy continuity, institutional stability and liberal democracy (Harris) or radical trade policy, a further retreat for globalization and strongman democracy (Trump),” J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note. “In short, a vote for stability or change.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was little changed in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.19 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.25 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.21 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.1 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.14 per cent.
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Commodities
Oil prices traded in a narrow range ahead of what is expected to be an exceptionally close U.S. presidential election, after rising more than 2 per cent yesterday as OPEC+ delayed plans to hike production in December.
Brent crude futures were up 0.6 per cent to US$75.53 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at US$71.94 a barrel, up 0.7 per cent.
“The fate of this election is important for the oil market, since a Donald Trump victory could have major consequences for international trade, geopolitical relations, U.S. energy policy and international climate policy,” analysts at France’s Engie Group said.
In other commodities, spot gold gained 0.4 per cent to US$2,748.02 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.4 per cent to US$2,757.40.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.89 US cents to 72.05 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.7 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.12 per cent to 103.76.
The euro rose 0.15 per cent to US$1.0895. The British pound advanced 0.2 per cent to US$1.2984.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.336 per cent.
Other corporate news
Factory workers at Boeing have voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.
Thomson Reuters Corp. has recorded higher than expected third-quarter revenue and raised its full-year organic revenue growth forecast.
Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s third-quarter results fell short of analysts’ expectations, as demand slowed at its fast food chains.
Fortis Inc. has reported a third-quarter profit of $420-million, up from $394-million in the same quarter last year.
Economic news
China’s Caixin services and composite PMI
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s merchandise trade balance for September, which showed a higher than expected deficit of $1.26-billion as a larger drop in imports failed to offset a fall in exports.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods and services trade deficit for September, which widened sharply as businesses boosted imports to meet robust domestic demand and in anticipation of higher tariffs on goods.
(9:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for October. Canada’s services economy expanded for the first time in five months as the amount of new business increased and confidence in the outlook improved.
(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global Services/Composite PMI for October
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. ISM Services PMI for October
(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Summary of Deliberations for the Oct. 23 decision
With Reuters and The Canadian Press