Equities
Global stocks retreated and Wall Street futures pointed lower as investors awaited Nvidia Corp. results after the closing bell and U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes this afternoon. Hotter-than-expected British inflation added to the cautious mood.
TSX futures eased, pressured by lower prices of most commodities.
Nvidia results are widely seen as a barometer for the burgeoning AI industry, which has helped drive the bull run in U.S. stocks.
“This is a pivotal event,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote. “It might seem strange that markets are hanging on the results of a single company, but over recent quarters, the release has become one of the most important events on the macro calendar.”
On Wall Street, markets are also getting results from Target Corp. and TJX Companies Inc.
Target has forecast current-quarter comparable sales and profit largely below Wall Street expectations after weak discretionary spending dented its first-quarter results, and said it continues to expect the consumer to be cautious. Shares dropped 8 per cent in premarket trading.
Wednesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.33 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.3 per cent, Germany’s DAX retreated 0.3 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.53 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.85 per cent lower at 38,617.10, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.13 per cent to 19,195.60.
Commodities
Oil prices fell for a third straight session on concerns that higher-for-longer interest rates in the United States may impact fuel use in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Brent crude futures fell 1.1 per cent to US$81.94 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures dropped 1 per cent to US$77.89.
In other commodities, gold prices inched lower but hovered above the key US$2,400 level. Spot gold was 0.3 per cent lower at US$2,415.33 an ounce after bullion hit a record high of US$2,449.89 on Monday.
Currencies and bonds
Their was little change in the Canadian and U.S. dollars in early markets.
The day range on the loonie was 73.18 US cents to 73.45 US cents. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.29 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, advanced 0.05 per cent to 104.70, reaching above a five-week low of 104.07 touched last week.
The euro was trading steady at US$1.085 while the British pound climbed 0.3 per cent to US$1.2729, near two-month highs.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was was slightly higher at 4.442 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.
Other corporate news
TJX Cos. has raised its annual profit forecast, banking on easing costs and robust demand. It expects annual earnings per share to be in the range of $4.03 to $4.09, compared with its prior forecast of $3.94 to $4.02.
Economic news
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for April. Consensus is a decline of 1.1 per cent on an annualized rate basis.
(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Fed minutes from April 30-May 1 meeting are released.
North American markets open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press
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