Investors are apparently in no mood to mark the first anniversary of the bull market with joyous celebrations that point to good times ahead. Global stock market indexes sagged on Tuesday, exactly a year after the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 began to recover from 12-year lows, on concerns about the usual issues: corporate earnings and whether signs of an economic recovery will morph into something long-lasting.
U.S. stock index futures were down with about 40 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will fall at the start of trading -- despite a lack of economic data. Futures for the Dow were down 18 points. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 4 points.
In Europe, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6 per cent and Germany’s DAX index was down 0.5 per cent in afternoon trading. There, the big concern emanated from European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., owner of Airbus SAS, which reported a bigger-than-expected annual loss and obliterated its dividend.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 per cent in overnight trading.
Meanwhile, commodities were soft, with crude oil down to $80.42 (U.S.) a barrel, down $1.45 – which doesn’t bode well for Canada’s commodity-heavy index.
However, at least Canadian banks continued their winning streak. Bank of Nova Scotia closed the fiscal first-quarter reporting season for the banks with earnings up 17 per cent. Scotiabank reported earnings of $988-million, or 91 cents, up from 80 cents last year. The results topped analysts’ expectations after some one-time items were excluded.
