Equities
Global markets traded higher as wild volatility in bond and currency markets eased ass investors key U.S. jobs data.
U.S. stock index futures extended gains after a softer-than-expected jobs report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting this month.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.65 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.32 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.12 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.56 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.94 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.6 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell while European gasoil futures dropped more than 5 per cent after reports of talks on additional diesel and crude stock releases, easing concerns over tight global energy supplies.
Brent crude futures declined 2.34 per cent to $99.91 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 3.8 per cent to US$89.32.
“The whole energy complex trades lower, led by gasoil and ULSD, as EU countries discuss releasing fuel and crude stockpiles to ease acute market tightness and help avert a potential U.S. diesel export ban,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said.
In other commodities, spot gold held its ground at US$4,182.44 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2 per cent to US$4,212.40.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.18 US cents to 70.41 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.75 per cent against the greenback over the past month. It traded at $1.4231 per US$1.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.19 per cent to 101.91.
The euro slipped 0.02 per cent to US$1.1241. The British pound gained 0.2 per cent to US$1.3220.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 5.186 per cent.
Economic news
Japan CPI and jobless rate
Euro zone CPI: Euro zone inflation surged more than expected in September – jumping to 3.8 per cent – and is likely to increase further in the coming months on soaring energy costs, keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates even higher.
S8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for September, which added 29,000 jobs compared with forecasts of a gain of 100,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came in at 4.2 per cent compared with expectations it remained at 4.1 per cent.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. factory orders for August.
Also: Canadian auto sales for September.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press