Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Equities

Global markets fell as traders cautiously awaited key inflation data, the beginning of France’s electoral vote and the first U.S. presidential debate.

Wall Street futures pointed down, with Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures all in the red.

TSX futures were muted as gains in crude oil were offset by investor caution ahead of U.S. inflation data.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from athletic apparel company Nike Inc. and pharmacy owner Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Results from chipmaker Micron weighed on futures early in the day.

Investors have become more worried about inflation following surprise jumps in Canadian and Australian inflation data this week.

On Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure could help traders determine the outlook for the U.S. central bank’s interest rate moves. France, Italy and Spain are also due to release inflation data on Friday.

“No one’s really going to be wanting to take any large positions ahead of tomorrow’s inflation data,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior markets analyst at City Index.

“In Europe you’ve got the political uncertainty which is also limiting any upside ahead of the French elections,” she added.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 lost 0.22 per cent in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.31 per cent and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.50 per cent. Germany’s DAX increased by 0.22 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.82 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 2.06 per cent.

Commodities

Oil prices edged higher, as Brent crude oil futures gained or 0.82 per cent to US$85.95 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose or 0.7 per cent to US$81.47.

Supply disruption risks from rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East helped to counter demand fears after a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles on Wednesday.

“The market is in a tug-of-war situation, underpinned by the prospect that an escalation in the battle between Israel and Hezbollah may hinder supply,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.

In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.7 per cent at US$2,314.22 per ounce.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar gained on its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.92 US cents to 73.11 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.06 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was down 0.15 per cent to 105.90.

The euro gained 0.16 per cent to US$1.0698. The British pound was up 0.23 per cent to US$1.2650.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was down at 4.329 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

Markets were also on alert for signs of Japanese authorities intervening in the yen after further declines in the currency.

Economic news

China industrial profits and current account surplus

Japan retail sales

Euro zone private sector credit and economic confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s payroll survey: job vacancy rate for April.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of June 22. Estimate is 240,000, up 2,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. GDP for Q1. Consensus is an annualized rate rise of 1.4 per cent with the GDP Price Index up 3.0 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods trade deficit for May.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. wholesale and retail inventories for May.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable and core orders for May. Estimates are flat and up 0.2 per cent from April, respectively.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for May.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press