Equities
Global stocks were mixed after rallies this week, with sentiment underpinned by Donald Trump’s decisive U.S. election victory, while China unveiled measures to support its flagging economy.
Wall Street opened on a muted note, with the main stocks indexes set for strong weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 per cent to 43,768.53, the S&P 500 gained 0.06 per cent to 5,976.76, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.07 per cent to 19,255.14 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.42 per cent lower at 24,741.49, dragged down by mining stocks, while softer-than-expected October jobs data kept alive expectations for a December interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Telus Corp., Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, Brookfield Business Partners LP, Constellation Software Inc. and Emera Inc.
“What you are going to get because of the clean sweep - is a mandate to improve the U.S. economy. So, taxes will come down, bureaucracy will ease and regulation will become lighter,” said Guy Miller, chief markets strategist at Zurich Insurance Group.
Bracing for ‘Trump 2.0′: World market themes for the week ahead
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.41 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.56 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.56 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.66 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.3 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave back 1.07 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell on receding fears over the impact of Hurricane Rafael on oil and gas infrastructure in the U.S. Gulf while investors also weighed up fresh Chinese economic stimulus.
Brent crude oil futures slid 1.5 per cent to US$74.46 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slumped 1.8 per cent to US$71.05. The benchmarks rose nearly 1 per cent yesterday.
“Our core view sees Trump adopt a relatively pragmatic approach to policy, in which he either chooses not to pursue more radical policy shifts, or is held back by institutional constraints or the influence of more moderate policy advisers,” BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold declined 0.7 per cent to US$2,687.48 an ounce. U.S. gold futures shed 0.4 per cent to US$2,694.60.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.86 US cents to 72.21 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.89 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.6 per cent to 104.57.
The euro fell 0.3 per cent to US$1.0772. The British pound dropped 0.31 per cent to US$1.2947.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.313 per cent.
Other corporate news
Telus Corp. has reported net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter despite it adding fewer net new customers compared a year earlier. It also announced a 7 per cent dividend hike.
Economic news
Japan household spending
(6:10 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada deputy governor Toni Gravellle joins an ECB panel in Frankfurt.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s employment for October, which was weaker than expected. The economy added 14,500 jobs, compared with the consensus forecast of 30,000 jobs.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for November.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press