Equities
Global markets were mostly higher ahead of a data-packed week, fuelled by investor optimism over billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent’s nomination as U.S. treasury secretary.
Wall Street futures climbed at the start of a trading week shortened by the Thanksgiving holiday.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. after markets close.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Zoom Video Communications Inc.
“This week will be a holiday-shortened one in the U.S. due to Thanksgiving, with most news and data packed into the first three days,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note.
“Highlights include the [Federal Reserve] minutes on Tuesday, followed by growth, PCE, and jobs data on Wednesday.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was little changed in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.11 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.17 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.04 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.3 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied following 6-per-cent gains last week, but supply worries amid mounting tensions between Western powers and major oil producers Russia and Iran kept a floor under prices.
Brent crude futures fell 0.34 per cent to US$74.91 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at US$70.89 a barrel, down 0.49 per cent.
“Oil prices are starting the new week with some slight cool-off as market participants await more cues from geopolitical developments and the Fed’s policy outlook to set the tone,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 1 per cent at US$2,686.73 an ounce, after declining more than 2 per cent earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures shed 0.9 per cent to US$2,688.40.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.52 US cents to 71.80 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.6 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.51 per cent to 107.01.
The euro rose 0.53 per cent to US$1.0482. The British pound gained 0.3 per cent to US$1.2567.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.358 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.
Economic news
Germany business climate index, which fell more than expected in November in further bad news for a country set to be the worst performer among the G7 this year.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales for October.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October.
(10:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity for November.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press