Equities
Global markets were lower in muted trading after U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell dampened investor hopes for another interest rate cut this year by saying there’s no need to hurry on easing monetary policy.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Powell’s comments, which was pushing up bond yields and putting pressure on rate-sensitive equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37 per cent to 43,587.93, the S&P 500 slid 0.61 per cent to 5,912.79, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.93 per cent to 18,929.916 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.35 per cent lower at 24,961.04, weighed down by technology stocks.
In Canada, investors are getting results from MDA Space Ltd.
On Wall Street, markets are eyeing earnings from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
“After the sugar hit of [Donald] Trump’s election and its subsequent impacts on expectations for company profits, the market’s enthusiasm is being watered-down by greater interest rate uncertainty, especially going into next year,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.63 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat, Germany’s DAX gave back 0.29 per cent and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.35 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.28 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.05 per cent.
Crypto bulls and euro bears: World market themes for the week ahead
Commodities
Oil prices were and heading for a weekly loss as investors mulled waning Chinese demand and a possible slowing of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut path.
Brent crude futures dropped 0.41 per cent to US$72.26 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.35 per cent at US$68.46. For the week, Brent is set to fall 2 per cent while WTI looked to decline almost 3 per cent.
“China served a timely reminder about the true state of its oil sector. The country’s refinery throughput declined for the seventh successive month in October,” PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$2,561.70 an ounce after prices have fallen more than 4 per cent this week. U.S. gold futures were steady at US$2,570.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar was flat against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.06 US cents to 71.35 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.67 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.06 per cent to 106.62.
The euro rose 0.37 per cent to US$1.0570. The British pound dropped 0.07 per cent to US$1.2658.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.446 per cent.
Other corporate news
Thousands of Canada Post workers went on strike today, after the national postal service and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers failed to reach a deal for a new collective agreement.
MDA Space Ltd. has reported $29.5-million in third-quarter net income, up from $9.3-million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose by nearly 40 per cent compared with a year ago.
Alibaba Group Holding has missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly sales, as lingering economic uncertainty sapped consumer spending in China and weighed on the e-commerce giant’s domestic business.
Economic news
China industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment
Japan real GDP and industrial production
EU Commission’s economic forecasts.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales and new orders for September. Estimates are month-over-month declines of 0.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for September, which rose 0.8 per cent compared with the estimated rise of 0.9 per cent from August.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian new motor vehicle sales for September. Estimate is a year-over-year drop of 3.5 per cent.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. retail sales for October, which rose 0.4 per cent, slightly more than expected, but underlying momentum in consumer spending appeared to slow at the start of the fourth quarter.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. import prices for October, which unexpectedly rose amid higher prices for fuels and other goods, the latest indication of lack of progress lowering inflation in recent months.
(9 a.m. ET) Canadian existing home sales and average prices for October.
(9 a.m. ET) Canada’s MLS Home Price Index for October. Estimate is a decline of 2.5 per cent from the same period a year ago.
(9 a.m. ET) U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization for October.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. business inventories for September. Consensus is a month-over-month gain of 0.1 per cent.
(10:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada Senior Loan Officer Survey for Q3.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press