Equities
Global markets were muted as lower oil prices and falling bond yields lifted appetite in Europe, while a sharp selloff in chipmakers in Asia prompted a broader rethink of the AI trade amid heightened competition.
Wall Street futures were mixed, with the Dow pointing higher, as investors eyed big bank earnings.
TSX futures were in positive territory after Canada’s main stock market closed up Friday as weaker-than-expected domestic jobs data reduced expectations for Bank of Canada interest rate hikes.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.
JPMorgan Chase’s profit rose in the third quarter, driven by investment banking and trading performance, but its shares fell 3 per cent in premarket trading as a recent slowdown in deal-making raised concerns about future growth.
Goldman Sachs has posted a higher third-quarter profit as deal-making remained steady and volatile markets tied to the Middle East conflict boosted the Wall Street giant’s equities revenue.
Citigroup’s third-quarter profit rose 40 per cent compared to a year earlier, helped by stronger investment banking revenue and transactions with multinational companies as well as higher wealth management earnings.
Investors “are questioning not just how much AI demand can grow, but how long today’s exceptional profits and margins can last as competition increases,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.26 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.51 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.14 per cent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.07 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.82 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.3 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices fell as traders assessed supply risks from attacks on Saudi Arabia while weighing the prospect of additional diesel supplies from Russia.
Brent crude futures dropped 1.57 per cent to US$105 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.38 per cent at US$92.45 a barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets, and his administration temporarily lifted U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel designed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine.
“Russia’s promise to supply 3-3.5 million tons per month by the end of the year is unlikely to be accomplished, given the dire state of the country’s refining sector,” said PVM Oil Associate Analyst Tamas Varga.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.3 per cent to US$4,184.84 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.4 per cent to US$4,209 an ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 69.92 US cents to 70.23 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.25 per cent against the greenback over the past month. It traded at $1.4242 per US$1.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.33 per cent to 102.25.
The euro rose 0.36 per cent to US$1.1197. The British pound gained 0.3 per cent to US$1.3248.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 5.196 per cent.
Economic news
Germany consumer price index
6 a.m. ET: U.S. NFIB small business and economic trends survey for September
8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP employment report for week of Sept. 26
10 a.m. ET: U.S. existing home sales
2 p.m. ET: U.S. budget balance
Several U.S. Federal Reserve members will be speaking throughout the day.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press