Equities

Global markets searched for direction after data indicated a weakening U.S. labour market, which has reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month.

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the latest U.S. employment report tomorrow.

TSX futures pointed higher after another record high close yesterday with August jobs numbers were on tap tomorrow.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Transcontinental Inc.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Broadcom Inc. and Enghouse Systems Group Inc.

“We got one or two days of weakness but the dip-buyers have stepped in,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.

“Many people are looking for this weakness in September to be a buying opportunity,” with economic growth still resilient, he added. “This is a good backdrop for equities.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.24 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was little changed, Germany’s DAX rose 0.29 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.39 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.53 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.12 per cent.

Commodities

Oil prices dipped, extending the more than 2-per-cent drop yesterday, as investors and traders looked ahead to a weekend meeting of OPEC+ where producers are expected to consider another increase in output targets.

Brent crude fell 0.6 per cent to US$67.17 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) eased 0.7 per cent to $63.53 a barrel.

“The market seems to be absorbing the supply increases relatively well during [third-quarter] high season, but the test for oil prices will be potential inventory build-ups during the winter months,” said Suvro Sarkar, DBS Bank energy sector team leader.

“We do not see too many positive drivers at this point, assuming geopolitical issues stay contained.”

In other commodities, gold prices eased on profit-taking after bullion hit an all-time high of US$3,578.50 yesterday. Spot gold fell 0.6 per cent to US$3,538.56 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery dipped 1.1 per cent to US$3,596.20.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.38 US cents to 72.51 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.46 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, gained 0.9 per cent to 98.23.

The euro eased 0.08 per cent to US$1.1653. The British pound advanced 0.07 per cent to US$1.3451.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.206 per cent.

Economic news

Euro zone retail sales

(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP National Employment for August.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s merchandise trade balance for July.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Aug. 30. Estimate is 233,000, up 4,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. productivity for Q2. The Street is estimating an annualized rate rise of 2.9 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods and services trade deficit for July.

(9:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for August.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global Services/Composite PMI for August.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. ISM Services PMI for August.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press