Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Equities

Global markets edged higher to end a positive week that saw investors cheer a tariff truce between the United States and China, But there was enough uncertainty to keep them cautious.

Wall Street futures were in positive territory after a mixed close yesterday.

TSX futures followed sentiment higher after closing at a new all-time high yesterday. Canadian markets will be closed Monday for a holiday.

“The markets confront a weekend with less risk of carrying open positions than last, with no major trade talks or significant risks on the calendar,” said Kyle Rodda, senior analyst at Capital.com.

“However, there is always a slight risk-off bias going into the weekend during a Trump presidency, with a nasty downside surprise at the Monday open only ever one social media post away.”

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Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.05 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.05 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.06 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.46 per cent.

Commodities

Oil prices gained ground, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain on easing U.S.-China trade tensions, although the optimism was somewhat offset by higher supply expectations from Iran and OPEC+..

Brent crude futures were up 0.65 per cent to US$64.95 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.67 per cent to US$62.03.

“The enthusiasm resulting from progress in relations between the U.S. and China allowed the oil price to recover,” said Harry Tchiliguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

In other commodities, spot gold declined 1.9 per cent to US$3,178.06. Bullion has lost more than 4 per cent so far this week and is set for its worst weekly performance since November, 2024. U.S. gold futures fell 1.4 per cent to US$3,180.90.

Currencies and bonds

The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 71.56 US cents to 71.76 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.77 per cent against the greenback over the past month. 

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.08 per cent to 100.81. 

The euro gained 0.1 per cent to US$1.1197. The British pound declined 0.15 per cent to US$1.3283.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.399 per cent.

Corporate news

A group of Quebec investors is poised to take control of Lion Electric Co. and vault it out of bankruptcy protection, giving the electric school bus maker a new lease on life just as it appeared to be speeding toward liquidation, The Globe’s Nicolas Van Praet reports. Lion said it expects to receive court approval for the sale today.

Oil and gas producer Strathcona says it plans to launch a $5.93-billion hostile takeover bid for peer MEG Energy, iming to create one of the country’s largest oil sands companies.

Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk says its CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen will step down over concerns the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market.

Economic news

China releases GDP data for first quarter and industrial production for March

Euro area releases trade surplus for March

European commission spring economic forecasts released

8:30 am ET: International securities transactions for Canada for March

8:30 am ET: U.S. housing starts and building permits for April

8:30 am ET: U.S. import prices for April. Consensus is for a decline of 0.4% year over year

10 am ET: University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey

10:30 am ET: BoC senior loan officer survey

With Reuters and The Canadian Press