Equities
Global stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed the tenuous Middle East ceasefire and turned attention back to the U.S. economy.
Wall Street futures were subdued after the previous day’s rally. TSX futures were flat.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Evertz Technologies Ltd., AGF Management Ltd. and Novagold Resources Ltd.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from General Mills Inc. and Micron Technology Inc.
With the tenuous Israel-Iran truce appearing to hold, investors shifted focus to the U.S. economy and monetary policy after macroeconomic data showed possibly weaker than expected growth in the world’s largest oil consumer, bolstering expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell was set to continue his congressional testimony at 10:00 a.m. ET, with investors looking for hints about the central bank’s monetary policy path.
“I think the Fed is back in focus today after Powell’s testimony yesterday, but also because we had de-escalation in the Middle East,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. “Now the core focus is what happens to U.S. rates and what happens to U.S. macro.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.25 per cent in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.31 per cent and Germany’s DAX lost 0.4 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.39 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.23 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices steadied as investors assessed the ceasefire and data showing strong U.S. demand.
Brent crude futures were up 46 US cents at US$67.60 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was up 43 US cents to US$64.80.
“Concerns about oil supply disruptions have declined,” said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS.
“The drawdown shows that demand is still holding up in the U.S., the trade tensions were not as bad as some were fearing.”
In other commodities, spot gold was little changed at US$3,325.56 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened slightly against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.79 US cents to 73 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.73 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.26 per cent to 98.11.
The euro lost 0.10 per cent to US$1.1599. The British pound lost 0.12 per cent to US$1.3597.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.316 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.
Economic news
Japan machine tool orders
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for May. Consensus is an annualized rate decline of 6.9 per cent.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies on the semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press
