Skip to main content
inside the market

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 went from slight gains to slight losses as the U.S. released a batch of economic data at 830 a.m. (ET) that showed mixed readings on the world's biggest economy. S&P 500 futures are down about 0.1 per cent after being up by about that same amount earlier this morning.

Initial jobless claims in the U.S. unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level in 11 weeks, and while durable goods orders beat consensus expectations, there was underlying weakness in the numbers once the transportation sector is factored out. U.S. personal income and spending data were a little light of expectations. More details are below in our Economic Indicators section.

Overall, look for thinly traded conditions today ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving Day break, which will see Wall Street closed on Thursday and open for only a shortened session on Friday.

Crude oil is a major focus again today, with West Texas Intermediate prices trading near four-year lows ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Predictions vary widely on whether members will move to cut supplies to prop up oil prices. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said earlier today that he expected oil "to stabilize itself eventually," which some market players are interpreting as a suggestion that the cartel would not cut output this week. But signals have been conflicting and suggestive of a rift among OPEC members. Iran's oil minister Wednesday told reporters that some OPEC members, though not Iran itself, believed it was time to defend market share in the face of growing supplies from non-OPEC nations.

In Asian markets overnight, the Nikkei closed slightly lower amid a stronger Japanese currency, and Shanghai shares rallied a further 1.4 per cent to a three-year peak - still basking in the glow of last week's interest rate cut by China's central bank. European markets this morning are modestly higher.

Check back later for further updates as economic reports are released in the U.S. For now, here's a closer look at what's happening this morning and what is still to come.

MARKETS:

Futures:

S&P 500 -0.11 per cent; Dow -0.08 per cent; Nasdaq +0.07 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.07 per cent

Equities:

Hong Kong's Hang Seng +1.12 per cent

Shanghai composite index +1.42 per cent

Japan's Nikkei -0.14 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.24 per cent

Germany's DAX +0.66 per cent

France's CAC 40 +0.02 per cent

Stoxx 600 +0.21 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Jan) -0.26 per cent at $73.90 (U.S.) a barrel

Natural gas (Nymex Jan) -0.64 per cent at $4.38 (U.S.)

Gold (Comex Feb) +0.02 per cent at $1,198.00 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Mar) -0.49 per cent at $2.96 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 88.70 (U.S.), down 0.0014

U.S. dollar index up 0.06 at 87.98

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.26 per cent, unch

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

U.S. initial claims last week was 313,000, higher than Street forecasts of 288,000.

U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.4 per cent last month, a stronger reading than the 0.6 per cent decline the Street was expecting. But excluding the transportation sector, orders actually fell 0.9 per cent.

U.S. personal income rose 0.2 per cent in October vs. the estimated 0.4 per cent gain. Personal spending rose 0.2 per cent, a little lower than the expected 0.3 per cent.

(955 a.m. ET) University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index. Consensus is for a reading of 90.0.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for October, forecast to come in at an annualized rate of 470,000, up 0.6 per cent from September. Pending home sales also due out.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Deere reported Q4 EPS of $1.83 (U.S.) vs. the Street estimated $1.57. But it provided a disappointing outlook, saying its Q1 equipment sales should be down 21 per cent. Shares are down 2 per cent in the premarket.

Hewlett-Packard shares are down about 2 per cent in the premarket after the computer maker late Tuesday reported fourth-quarter sales that missed estimates.

Other earnings today include: Exco Technologies and North Atlantic Drilling.

Seadrill shares are down 10 per cent in the U.S. premarket after the offshore driller controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen suspended dividends as the slump in oil prices hurts demand for rigs.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

Industrial Alliance downgraded Dollarama to "hold" from "buy" and maintained a price target of $54.50 (Canadian).

Raymond James downgraded InterRent REIT to "outperform" from "strong buy" and kept a $6.50 (Canadian) price target.

M Partners downgraded Golden Queen Mining to "sell" from "buy" and cut its price target to $1 (Canadian) from $1.45.

Several analysts raised their price targets on Alimentation Couche-Tard, including Desjardins Securities hiking its target to $44 (Canadian) from $39 while maintaining a "buy" rating. But Barclays downgraded its rating to "equal weight" from "overweight" with a price target of $40.

Cormark Securities downgraded Fairfax Financial Holdings to "market perform" from "buy" with a price target of $575 (Canadian).

THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:

Goldman Sachs Group and three other big platinum and palladium dealers have been sued in the United States in what the plaintiff's law firm called the first nationwide class action over alleged price-fixing of the metals.

Obsessing about Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a pointless exercise for investors.

Be very afraid: Infomercial king Tony Robbins wants to tell you what to do with your money.

Don't look for a bear market at least until 2016.

Is defensive sector leadership forecasting slower growth?

Hedge funds lose money for everyone, not just the rich.

Three stocks that are thriving as Keystone XL fails and oil plummets.

----

Have feedback on our daily Before the Bell report and suggestions on how to make it more useful in your investing day? Please contact Inside the Market Editor Darcy Keith at dakeith@globeandmail.com.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe