What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Global markets were mixed as investors prepared for a raft of key economic data releases and earnings from major U.S. companies this week.
Wall Street markets rose at the open, recovering some losses following a turbulent trading week in the final stretch before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.36 per cent to 42,264.54, the S&P 500 gained 0.44 per cent to 5,833.93, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7 per cent to 18,648.252 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.19 per cent lower at 24,416.42, as the energy sector tracked a steep decline in oil prices.
In Canada, investors are getting results from PrairieSky Royalty Ltd.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Ford Motor Co. and Waste Management Inc.
“There’ll be plenty to test the market nerves with this week’s bumper set of data releases, including U.S. payrolls on Friday, and earnings reports, with five of the Magnificent 7 reporting. Meanwhile, the tight U.S. election campaign will enter its final stretch,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.08 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.25 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.12 per cent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.19 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.82 per cent higher as Japan’s ruling party lost its parliamentary majority. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.045 per cent.
Oil prices tumbled after Israel’s retaliatory strike against Iran at the weekend bypassed oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies.
Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit their lowest levels since Oct. 1 at the open. Brent was at US$71.25 a barrel, down 6.3 per cent, while WTI slid 6.7 per cent to US$67 a barrel.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar, however, does not expect any speedy de-escalation to conflict in the Middle East.
“Despite Israel’s choice of a low-aggression response to Iran, we have doubts that Israel and Iran’s proxies (Hamas and Hezbollah) are on track for an enduring ceasefire,” he said in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.6 per cent to US$2,731.79 an ounce, and U.S. gold futures declined 0.4 per cent to US$2,744.20.
The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.89 US cents to 72.02 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.65 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, retreated 0.08 per cent to 104.14.
The euro advanced 0.17 per cent to US$1.0815. The British pound climbed 0.22 per cent to US$1.2992.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.243 per cent.
Boeing has launched a stock offering that could raise roughly US$19-billion as the plane maker looks to strengthen its finances squeezed by a month-long worker strike and a year-long safety crisis.
Volkswagen plans to shut at least three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and shrink its remaining plants in Europe’s biggest economy as it plots a deeper-than-expected overhaul, the auto maker’s works council head said.
McDonald’s has announced that Quarter Pounders will again be on its menu at hundreds of its U.S. restaurants after testing ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak of E. coli poisoning tied to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others across 13 states.
China industrial profits
Germany retail sales
(10:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity for October.
(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem participates in a fireside chat at The Logic Summit in Toronto.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press