The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the premarket to reflect latest developments.
Major U.S. and Canadian stock indexes appear set to open little changed this morning, despite anxiety over what the coordinated terrorist attacks on Paris Friday night may mean for markets going forward.
North American markets were already closed when the attacks occurred, but the futures market in the U.S. was open and quickly dropped about 1 per cent. Futures Sunday night opened lower. That may have been a knee-jerk reaction to the unfolding news - common in major global terrorism events - as futures have since bounced back heading into today's open. Futures for the S&P 500 are up a mere 1.5 points and for the TSX 60 3.5 points.
Gold is often seen as a safe haven at times such as these, but it's only up about 1 per cent this morning. France's CAC 40 index is virtually flat. Crude oil is getting a modest bid, up around 1.6 per cent, amid fears about supply disruptions after France launched airstrikes Sunday against the Islamic State in Syria. That should support stocks in energy companies this morning; Exxon Mobil, for instance, is up about 1 per cent in the premarket.
Few strategists expect a prolonged economic or market impact from the attacks. Warren Buffett, for one, told CNBC this morning he's not changing any of his investment decisions because of the developments in France.
One reason for market optimism is that any dampening on the European economy, including in tourism, would keep the European Central Bank under pressure to ease monetary policy further in coming weeks. That would likely support stock prices, as well as keep pressure on the euro and aid in the U.S. dollar's advance.
The TSX is on its longest loosing streak since 2002 - eight sessions in a row - and is down about 10 per cent for the year. That may be catching some investors a bit by surprise, given the daily losses haven't been huge, but significant on a accumulative basis. The sudden reversal of gains in Valeant, commodity prices trading near multi-year lows, and the prospect of a U.S. interest rate hike in December are dampening investor sentiment. The Paris attacks and the fallout that will follow should increase volatility in global markets, at least temporarily, but the main focus is likely to return to what the Federal Reserve is likely to decide on monetary policy in December.
Now, here is a closer look at major markets, and corporate and economic news.
MARKET DATA:
Futures
S&P 500 +0.01 per cent; Dow -0.06 per cent; Nasdaq: -0.15 per cent
Equities
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.72 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.73 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -1.04 per cent
London's FTSE 100 +0.42 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.30 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.02 per cent
Stoxx 600 +0.13 per cent
Commodities
WTI crude oil (Nymex Jan) +1.64 per cent at $42.70 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Dec) +0.94 per cent at $1,091.10 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Dec) -1.01 per cent at $2.15 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies
Canadian dollar -0.03 at 75.09 cents (U.S.)
U.S. dollar index +0.039 at 99.037
Bonds
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.26 per cent, -0.0062
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 1.5 per cent to $51.1 billion in September, following a 0.6 per cent drop in August. Estimate was unchanged and an increase of 0.5 per cent from August, respectively.
(9 a.m. ET) Canada existing home sales and average prices for October. Estimates are increases 0.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent year over year, respectively.
(9 a.m. ET) Canada MLS Home Price Index for October. Estimate is an increase of 7.2 per cent year over year
CORPORATE NEWS:
HNZ Group Inc. says it will suspend its monthly dividend starting next year as it deals with a slowdown in the resource sector, a key customer for the company.
Marriott International Inc will buy Sheraton owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc in a $12.2 billion deal to create the world's largest hotel chain.
Earnings include: Africa Oil Corp; Agilent Technologies Inc; CENTRIC HEALTH Corp; Dillard's Inc; First Majestic Silver Corp; Spectra7 Microsystems Inc; TAG Oil Ltd; Trevali Mining Corp; Urban Outfitters Inc
Darcy Keith