The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.
North American stock futures are nearly unchanged this morning amid a number of new economic readings in both Canada and the U.S.
We have the highlights so far - which include U.S. retail sales - below in our Economic Indicators section.
Overnight brought several fresh readings on the state of the European economy. While a mixed picture overall, investors largely took the reports in stride, with the pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index down this morning by half a percentage point. Euro zone gross domestic product rose a lacklustre 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, and Germany narrowly missed falling into recession. France's GDP reading came in stronger-than-expected, and revised figures from Greece showed the debt-heavy nation emerged from a six-year recession. Meanwhile, inflation data for the euro zone showed that consumer prices rose by 0.4 per cent in October versus the same time a year ago.
The U.S. dollar has hit another seven-year high against the Japanese yen today, keeping commodities - especially gold - under pressure. The December futures contract for West Texas Intermediate crude oil sank to a fresh four-year low overnight of $73.25 (U.S.) per barrel, but has rebounded over the last few hours and is now trading slightly higher - but still below $75. The International Energy Agency isn't providing much encouragement that things will quickly turn around for oil; in a fresh monthly report, it predicted crude prices could fall further in 2015 amid a rising supply surplus. OPEC members meet on Nov. 27 to discuss a response to falling oil prices, and it's unlikely the commodity will make a significant recovery at least until that time.
Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.
MARKETS:
Futures:
S&P 500 -0.01 per cent; Dow +0.01 per cent; Nasdaq +0.05 per cent; S&P/TSX +0.07 per cent
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.28 per cent
Shanghai composite index -0.27 per cent
Japan's Nikkei +0.56 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.32 per cent
Germany's DAX -0.62 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.45 per cent
Stoxx 600 -0.55 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Dec) +0.19 per cent at $74.35 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex Jan) +0.37 per cent at $4.10 (U.S.)
Gold (Comex Dec) -0.86 per cent at $1,161.50 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) +0.05 per cent at $2.99 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 88.01 (U.S.), up 0.0009
U.S. dollar index up 0.32 at 87.99
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.35 per cent, up 0.002
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Canada manufacturing sales for September were up 2.1 per cent from August, beating the Street estimate of a 1 per cent rise.
U.S. retail sales were up 0.3 per cent in October, matching Street estimates.
U.S. October import prices were down 1.8 per cent from a year ago versus the estimate for a 1.6 per cent drop
(9 a.m. ET) Canadian existing home sales for October, forecast to rise 6 per cent from a year earlier.
(9 a.m. ET) Canadian MLS home price index for October, forecast to rise 5.5 per cent from a year earlier.
(955 a.m. ET) University of Michigan consumer sentiment. Consensus is for the index to come in at 87.5.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. business inventories for September. They are expected to rise 0.1 per cent.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Baker Hughes shares are up 7 per cent in the premarket after the Wall Street Journal reported that Halliburton is interested in buying the company.
Hertz Global Holdings said it will restate or revise financial statements from 2011 through 2013 and continue its review that found $87-million of cumulative accounting errors for the three years. Shares in Hertz are up 4 per cent in the premarket.
CAE has won contracts to supply nine full flight simulators to various customers, including five to be delivered over several years to a training subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines.
Heroux-Devtek reported adjusted EPS of 11 cents, missing the Street estimate of 15 cents.
Other earnings today include: Amaya Gaming; Gasfrac, Liquor Stores; Onex; Power Corp. Power Financial; Vecima.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Canaccord Genuity upgraded UrtheCast to "speculative buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $2.25 (Canadian) from $1.50.
Canaccord Genuity downgraded Leisureworld Senior Care to "hold" from "buy" and kept a $14.50 (Canadian) price target.
BMO Nesbitt Burns cut its price target on Teck Resources to $20 (U.S.) from $25 and maintained a "market perform" rating.
BMO Nesbitt Burns downgraded Wal-Mart to "underperform" from "market perform" with a price target of $78 (U.S.).
Goldman Sachs upgraded Harley-Davidson to "buy" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $81 (U.S.) from $66.
FBR Capital hiked its price target on Yahoo to $60 (U.S.) from $50 and maintained an "outperform" rating.
Canaccord Genuity downgraded Ross Stores to "sell" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $72 (U.S.) from $68.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:
Why economists will get bonds wrong again.
Things often perceived as market noise, but that really do matter.
A market shift could be underway from technology to energy.
Commodities could be in the dumps for another decade.
Three beaten-down stocks set to bounce back in 2015.
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Darcy Keith