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Global markets were mixed as investors turned defensive, wary of the flare-up in Middle East hostilities with U.S.-Iran peace talks in limbo. |
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Meanwhile, an AI-driven selloff after chipmaker Broadcom reported underwhelming results on Wednesday continued into a second day, as investors took profits following a blistering recent rally. |
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Wall Street futures were also mixed after the blue-chip Dow hit a record closing high yesterday with a boost from health-care and financial stocks. |
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TSX futures were in the red after Canada’s main stock market closed at a fresh record high yesterday. |
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It “seems like quite a risk-off today,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. |
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“The issue is not that AI demand has disappeared - it is that expectations had become extremely high, and even good numbers are no longer enough unless guidance keeps moving higher.” |
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Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.22 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.28 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.18 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.43 per cent. |
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In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.31 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.15 per cent. |
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Oil prices eased after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been suspended after an explosion. |
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Brent crude futures slipped 0.09 per cent to US$94.94 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at US$92.86 a barrel, down 0.19 per cent. |
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Analysts have also flagged concerns of falling oil inventories globally that could cause a price spike in the third quarter. |
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“Any optimism remains heavily clouded by a tangled web of headlines and counter-headlines,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. |
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“From a technical perspective, as long as [WTI] crude oil remains above trendline support in the low US$80s, the risks remain skewed to the upside.” |
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In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$4,463.73 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.3 per cent to US$4,491. |
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The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. |
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The day range on the loonie was 71.81 US cents to 72.09 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.44 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, slid 0.19 per cent to 99.22. The dollar was pegged at $1.3877. |
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The euro climbed 0.24 per cent to US$1.1641. The British pound advanced 0.28 per cent to US$1.3463. |
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In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.479 per cent. |
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Japan’s real cash earnings and household spending |
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8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian employment for May. The Street expects a gain of 10,000 jobs with the unemployment rate remaining 6.9 per cent and average hourly wages rising 4.5 per cent year-over-year (unchanged from the previous month). |
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8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for May. Consensus is a rise of 92,000 jobs with a steady unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent and average hourly wages gaining 3.5 per cent from the same period a year ago. |
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3 p.m. ET: U.S. consumer credit for April. |
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With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
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