Equities<\/p>\n
Global markets regained footing after selloffs yesterday as investors latched on to the prospect of lower interest rates.<\/p>\n
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets retreated from record highs in the previous session.<\/p>\n
Dow futures were up 0.2 per cent, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.17 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 0.22 per cent higher as of 7:30 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n
TSX futures pointed higher, lifted by strengthening metals and oil prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat small bump will likely be forgotten quickly, with [reports] that Nvidia is considering investing US$20-billionn in Elon Musk\u2019s xAI,\u201d Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note. \u201cThe AI tide is too strong to swim against.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re back to the same conclusion: chips, data centers, energy and cybersecurity are all needed to power AI models. The real question isn\u2019t whether AI will grow, but whether market pricing has run ahead of itself. … There will certainly be losers, but also major winners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.63 per cent in morning trading. Britain\u2019s FTSE 100 rose 0.83 per cent, Germany\u2019s DAX gained 0.61 per cent and France\u2019s CAC 40 advanced 0.89 per cent.<\/p>\n
In Asia, Japan\u2019s Nikkei closed 0.45 per cent lower, while Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng slid 0.48 per cent. <\/p>\n
Commodities<\/p>\n
Oil prices were on the rise as investors brushed off oversupply fears, having digested a decision earlier by OPEC+ to restrain production increases next month.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures gained 0.96 per cent to US$66.08 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 1.07 per cent to US$62.39.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe market is in price limbo, with one side bent towards a possible supply glut and the other believing the ramp-up will not be as fast as anticipated,\u201d said Emril Jamil, a senior analyst at LSEG Oil Research.<\/p>\n
In other commodities, gold continued its rally after U.S. gold futures surged past<\/a> the US$4,000 per ounce milestone for the first time yesterday, and spot gold matched<\/a> today. Spot gold was up 1.3 per cent at US$4,034.59 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 1.3 per cent to US$4,056.80.<\/p>\n Currencies and bonds<\/p>\n The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.<\/p>\n The day range on the loonie was 71.57 US cents to 71.72 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.58 per cent against the greenback over the past month. <\/p>\n The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.26 per cent to 98.84. <\/p>\n The euro fell 0.24 per cent to US$1.1632. The British pound declined 0.13 per cent to US$1.3408. <\/p>\n In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.104 per cent.<\/p>\n Other corporate news<\/p>\n