Equities
Canada’s main stock index slid at Tuesday’s opening bell with a decline in crude prices hitting energy stocks. On Wall Street, key indexes also started lower as traders await key U.S. inflation figures tomorrow.
At 9:30 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 117.83 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 20,467.32. Financial stocks were also under pressure Tuesday morning.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.84 points, or 0.09 per cent, at the open to 33,589.85.
The S&P 500 opened lower by 13.87 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 4,124.25, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 61.14 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 12,195.78 at the opening bell.
OANDA senior analyst Ed Moya said in a note that traders had been watching Monday’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices in the U.S., although the report didn’t deliver major surprises aside from a weaker picture of loan demand.
“Investors will shift the focus back to inflation, with a close look at core services, excluding shelter,” he said. “This inflation report might prove to be sticky and that could help delay Fed rate cut bets.”
U.S. inflation figures for April are due Wednesday morning. Economists are expecting to see the consumer price index rise by 0.4 per cent from March while the annual rate of inflation in the U.S. economy is expected to come in around 5 per cent. Canadian inflation figures are due next week.
On the corporate side, Calgary-based Suncor Energy reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.36 in the latest quarter, better than the $1.32 analysts had been forecasting. Suncor’s total upstream production was 742,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 766,100 boe/d in the prior year’s quarter. The results were released after Monday’s closing bell.
On Tuesday, Canadian investors get results from SNC-Lavalin and Chorus Aviation. Great-West Lifeco releases results after the close of trading. Sun Life and Manulife report later in the week.
SNC-Lavalin said profit attributable to shareholders rose to $28.4-million or 16 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from $24.8-million or 14 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue totalled $2.02-billion, up from $1.89-billion in the first three months of 2022.
In the U.S., Airbnb and Rivian report after the close of trading. About 85 per cent of the companies in the S&P 500 have now posted results for the current reporting period.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.83 per cent by midday. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.52 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.44 per cent and 1.05 per cent, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 1.01 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.12 per cent. New figures released Tuesday showed China’s imports shrank sharply in April, while exports rose at a slower pace, Reuters reported.
Commodities
Crude prices were down in early trading following two solid sessions of gains as markets await this week’s U.S. inflation data for clues about the path ahead of interest rates.
The day range on Brent was US$75.93 to US$76.90 in the early premarket period. The range on West Texas Intermediate was US$72.13 to US$73.08. Both benchmarks added about 2 per cent on Monday.
“The oil market was extremely oversold and it will probably continue to stabilize as long as Wall Street is still confident the Fed will cut rates later this year,” OANDA’s Ed Moya said.
“Oil prices won’t be able to rise that much from here given all the growth demand fears, but expectations are high for OPEC+ to try to keep prices above the US$70 a barrel level.”
Later Tuesday, markets will get the first of two weekly U.S. inventory reports with fresh numbers from the American Petroleum Institute. More official U.S. government figures follow on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, prices drew some support from a move by energy producers in Alberta to shut in production after wildfires prompted a state of emergency in the province. The move affected about 3 per cent of Canada’s output, according to a Reuters report.
In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to US$2,025.02 per ounce by Tuesday morning, holding an about-$9 range.
U.S. gold futures were little changed at US$2,032.80.
Currencies
The Canadian dollar was little changed in early trading while its U.S. counterpart edged up against a group of world currencies.
The day range on the loonie was 74.70 US cents to 74.82 US cents in the predawn period.
There were no major Canadian economic releases due on Tuesday.
On world markets, the U.S. dollar index edged up 0.1 per cent to 101.56, but remained near recent lows as traders await this week’s inflation data, according to figures from Reuters.
The euro slid 0.3 per cent to US$1.09750.
Britain’s pound last bought US$1.25975, down 0.1 per cent ahead of Thursday’s rate announcement by the Bank of England.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was lower at 3.496 per cent ahead of the North American open.
More company news
Battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp said on Tuesday it planned to develop a recycling hub in Italy along with Swiss miner and commodity trader Glencore Plc to produce battery materials including lithium. Canada-based Li-Cycle had earlier announced in March that it would be building a French battery processing facility amid rising demand for lithium due to its key role in transition towards net zero. The two companies are expected to complete a joint feasibility study for the project by mid-2024, Li-Cycle said. -Reuters
George Weston Ltd. raised its dividend as it reported its first-quarter profit and revenue rose compared with a year ago. The company, which holds large stakes in Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, says it will increase its quarterly dividend to 71.3 cents per share from 66 cents per share. The increased payment came as George Weston says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $426-million or $3.01 per diluted share for the 12-week period ended March 25.
Economic news
(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for April.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press