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

Global markets were in the green as investors waited out the results of the U.K. election.

Equities

World stocks climbed to fresh highs with traders watching European elections as U.K. voters head to the polls.

TSX futures rose in thin trading volumes on Thursday as gold and copper prices increased.

U.S. markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday, making for thin trading as investors waited for results of the U.K. election – forecasted to be a landslide win for the Labour Party over the Conservatives, who have held power for 14 years.

Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets, said investors are going into the election “quite neutral,” partly because political risk has surged in France, which holds the second round of its parliamentary elections on Sunday, and in the United States ahead of its Presidential vote in November.

“The U.K., oddly, has ended up with a neutral position in the middle,” Metcalfe said. “Also, I don’t think at any point has the result (of the election) been in any doubt.”

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.66 per cent in early afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.95 per cent, Germany’s DAX increased 0.36 per cent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.83 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.82 per cent higher at 40,913.65, surpassing its record high on a rally led by technology stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.28 per cent at the close.

Commodities

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, retreating from the previous session’s multi-month highs, with investors taking profits as demand caution remained in focus despite last week’s decline in U.S. inventories.

Brent crude futures were down 0.46 per cent at US$86.94 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.52 per cent to US$83.44 per barrel in trade thinned by the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

The Thursday drop in oil prices is partly attributable to traders taking profits after recent gains, said OANDA analyst Kelvin Wong.

Spot gold was unchanged at US$2,357.78 per ounce.

Currencies and bonds

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

The day range on the loonie was 73.28 US cents to 73.43 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.32 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, lost 0.18 per cent to 105.22.

The euro gained 0.12 per cent to US$1.0803. The British pound increased 0.09 per cent to US$1.2756.

Economic news

U.S. markets closed

Germany factory orders

(9:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for June.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press