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Global markets were muted as AI spending fears weighed on stocks while concerns about disruption in sectors including software and data services continued. |
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Wall Street futures turned into positive territory after major North American markets closed sharply lower yesterday. |
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TSX futures followed sentiment higher ahead of the January jobs report. |
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In Canada, investors are getting results from CAE Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. |
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On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Philip Morris International Inc. |
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“It’s almost been a week of two halves. You’ve had the AI software worries at the start of the week and then the AI spending worries at the end of the week,” Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said. |
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“And I think combined that just shows how sensitive and how nervous the market actually is with regards to the entire AI story.” |
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Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.23 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.5 per cent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.03 per cent. |
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In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.81 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.21 per cent. |
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Oil prices held steady as investors awaited news from high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran in Oman amid fears of another supply-disrupting Middle East conflict. |
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Brent crude futures gained 0.1 per cent to US$67.62 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 0.1 per cent to US$63.36 a barrel. |
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“Investors are watching the U.S.-Iran talks, and their sentiment is shaped by the outcome of these talks,” said Tamas Varga, an oil analyst at brokerage PVM. |
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“The uncertainty is about whether this could lead to supply disruptions and how big. It doesn’t look like these two countries can come to a long-term agreement,” he said. |
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In other commodities, spot gold rose 1.9 per cent to US$4,859.43 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery lost 0.1 per cent to trade at US$4,883.10 an ounce. |
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The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. |
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The day range on the loonie was 72.85 US cents to 73.12 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 1.65 per cent against the greenback over the past month. |
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The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was little changed at 97.84. |
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The euro rose 0.09 per cent to US$1.1791. The British pound gained 0.39 per cent to US$1.3583. |
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In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.200 per cent. |
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Germany industrial production and trade surplus |
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8:30 a.m. ET: Canada employment report for January. Consensus is for 7,000 net new jobs, holding steady from the previous month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 6.8 per cent. |
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10 a.m. ET: University of Michigan consumer sentiment |
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With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
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