Global markets were mixed as investors weighed expectations of a U.S. rate cut as early as next week against political upheavals including the French government’s collapse.

Wall Street futures were in positive territory after the Nasdaq yesterday notched another record close, while TSX futures pointed higher.

Vancouver’s Teck Resources and London’s Anglo American have agreed to merge in a US$50-billion deal that will create world’s fifth-largest copper producer.

Under the proposed deal, which will require regulatory approval in Canada and South Africa, Anglo American shareholders would own 62.4 per cent of the newly combined company, Anglo Teck, while shareholders in Teck will hold 37.6 per cent. Anglo Teck will be headquartered in Canada but have a primary listing in London, the companies said.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Oracle Corp., Synopsys Inc. and GameStop Corp.

French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years after opposition parties united to kick out centre-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular plans for budget tightening.

“If we were to avoid elections, clearly that would be more of a market positive than the alternative, though it doesn’t do much to alter the rather perilous fiscal trajectory that France remains on,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

“It does remove a little bit of risk in the short-term, which is why markets are by and large shrugging all of that off this morning.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was flat in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.26 per cent, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.38 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.19 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.42 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.19 per cent.

Oil extended gains, supported by OPEC+’s latest oil output hike being smaller than anticipated, expectations that China will continue stockpiling oil and concerns over potential new sanctions on Russia.

Brent crude rose 0.7 per cent to US$66.49 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 1.2 per cent to US$62.98.

“Prices are holding up amid speculation that production will not rise by the amount the eight members [of OPEC+] have allowed themselves, and not least the fact China according to data has been buying around 0.5 million barrels per day towards stockpiling,” said Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank

In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at US$3,647.98 an ounce after hitting a record high of US$3,659.10 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3 per cent to US$3,688.10.

The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.39 US cents to 72.50 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.19 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.2 per cent to 97.26.

The euro inched up 0.01 per cent to US$1.1766. The British pound gained 0.29 per cent to US$1.3584.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.067 per cent.

China foreign reserves

Japan machine tool orders

(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for August, which improved further amid expectations for higher sales, but worries about the quality of available labour lingered.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press