Equities
Global markets were subdued as investors braced for further shifts in U.S. trade policy in the wake of President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and waited to hear from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on tariffs and inflation.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower ahead of Powell’s testimony to Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 per cent to 44,401.38, the S&P 500 slid 0.28 per cent to 6,049.32, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.57 per cent to 19,602.112 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.26 per cent lower at 25,590.95, weighed down by mining shares.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Shopify Inc., Toromont Industries Ltd. and Cineplex Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Coca-Cola Co., Gilead Sciences Inc., Marriott International Inc. and S&P Global Inc.
“Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell begins his two-day testimony in front of U.S. politicians today and is expected to adopt a cautious approach despite mounting pressure to lower rates from the Trump government,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note.
“After all, U.S. growth remains solid, the jobs market healthy, and inflation sticky. And Trump’s growth-boosting policies and tariff threats threaten to make it stickier.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was flat in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.04 per cent, Germany’s DAX added 0.08 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was little changed.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 1.06 per cent lower, while Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
Commodities
Oil prices extended gains amid concerns over Russian and Iranian oil supply and sanctions threats, despite worries that escalating trade tariffs could dampen global economic growth.
Brent crude futures were up 1.6 per cent at US$77.06 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.5 per cent to US$73.43.
“With the U.S. bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday,” PVM oil analyst John Evans said.
In other commodities, spot gold hit a peak of US$2,942.70 an ounce before easing to stand 0.1 per cent lower at US$2,904.59. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to trade at US$2,932.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 69.69 US cents to 69.85 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.16 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.04 per cent to 108.28.
The euro rose 0.16 per cent to US$1.0324. The British pound climbed 0.15 per cent to US$1.2387.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.540 per cent.
Corporate news
Shopify issued a downbeat first-quarter profit outlook, even as the e-commerce company posted better-than-expected holiday-quarter sales on the back of healthy consumer spending and its roll out AI features.
Coca-Cola has posted posted a surprise rise in comparable revenue and topped estimates for fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher prices and resilient demand for its sodas and juices.
Economic news
(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for January.
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s building permits for December. Estimate is a month-over-month rise of 2.0 per cent.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell testifies before Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press