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Global markets hit the pause button over uncertainty about the next potential target for U.S. tariffs under president-elect Donald Trump, a day after he pledged new levies on Canada, Mexico and China.
Wall Street’s main indexes opened slightly lower as investors evaluated strong economic data and a key inflation report that could influence the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy stance.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.05 per cent to 44,837.75, the S&P 500 dropped 0.12 per cent to 6,014.11​, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.22 per cent to 19,132.987 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.08 per cent lower at 25,385.40, as losses in financials countered gains in mining shares.
“We’re trying to get our heads around very volatile communication where on the one hand you have very aggressive and uncompromising news on tariffs but on the other hand a pretty pragmatic pick [of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent] for treasury secretary,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.28 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.19 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.24 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.76 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.8 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 2.32 per cent.
Oil prices held steady, with markets considering the potential impact of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah and Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting, in which the group could delay a planned increase to oil output.
Brent crude futures rose 0.52 per cent to US$73.19 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.57 per cent to US$69.16.
“Market participants are assessing whether the ceasefire will be observed,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, part of Nissan Securities.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 1 per cent to US$2,656.30 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose nearly 0.9 per cent to US$2,645.80.
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.02 US cents to 71.25 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.7 per cent to 106.26.
The euro rose 0.71 per cent to US$1.0566. The British pound gained 0.72 per cent to US$1.2661.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.253 per cent.
Brookfield has dropped its plan to take over Spain’s Grifols due to a disagreement over the pharmaceutical company’s value, a spokesperson for the Grifols family says.
China industrial profits
Germany consumer confidence
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Nov. 23, which dropped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 213,000. Estimate was 217,000, up 4,000 from the previous week.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. real GDP for Q3, which came in at an annualized rate rises of 2.8 per cent, matching forecasts.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods trade deficit for October.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. wholesale and retail inventories for October.
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable and core orders for October. The Street expects month-over-month increases of 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.
(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago PMI for November.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. personal spending and income for October. Consumer spending rose 0.4 per cent from September compared with the 0.3-per-cent forecast.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. core PCE price index for October, which rose 0.3 per cent as expected.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for October.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press