Equities
Global markets were mixed as investors considered key U.S. inflation data that could signal the size of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut next week.
The U.S. consumer price index rose marginally in August, but underlying inflation showed some stickiness, which could discourage the Fed from delivering a half-point cut.
Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed at the open on rate-cut uncertainty and as investors weighed the impact of the heated debate last night between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24 per cent to 40,638.76, the S&P 500 slid 0.02 per cent to 5,496.42, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21 per cent to 17061.406 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.01 per cent lower at 22,999.97.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Dollarama Inc. The discount retailer has reported a rise in second-quarter sales on steady demand for low-priced essentials.
“With the dust settling on the Trump vs Harris presidential debate, it’s clear that the market saw this debate going to Kamala Harris,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
“This debate was never going to be an exercise in digging deep into the weeds and into the granularity of the respective policies, and we’re certainly not significantly wiser on that front.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.33 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.24 per cent and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.12 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.49 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.73 per cent.
‘Blunt’ interest rates pose questions about Fed easing
Commodities
Oil prices were on the rise, paring some of yesterday’s losses, as a drop in U.S. crude inventories and concern about hurricane Francine disrupting U.S. output countered worries over weak global demand.
Brent crude futures were up 1.55 per cent to US$70.26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 1.83 per cent to US$66.95.
“The [American Petroleum Institute] provided some comfort as it showed a sizable decline in crude oil stocks, a forecast-beating draw in gasoline and a tiny build in distillate inventories,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
In other commodities, spot gold slid 0.4 per cent to US$2,505.17 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures edged 0.4 per cent lower to US$2,533.70.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.42 US cents to 73.68 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.99 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 101.70.
The euro fell 0.05 per cent to US$1.1014. The British pound dropped 0.45 per cent lower to US$1.3020.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 3.621 per cent.
Other corporate news
Toronto-Dominion Bank was ordered by a U.S. regulator on Wednesday to pay nearly US$28-million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about customers with credit reporting agencies, potentially tarnishing customers’ credit reports.
Economic news
UK GDP, services index, industrial and manufacturing production and trade deficit. Britain’s economy stagnated for a second month running in July as manufacturing output dropped sharply.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. CPI for August, which increased 0.2 per cent from July, as expected, and 2.5 per cent year-over-year.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press