World stock markets are mixed Tuesday morning following last week’s U.S.-China summit, with Asian markets split, European equities moving higher, and U.S. futures under pressure. Technology shares, particularly those tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductor demand, continue to soften ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s earnings report from NVIDIA. The market’s reaction to results, forward guidance, and management commentary may play an important role in determining whether recent weakness across AI-related names stabilizes or extends further in the near term.
Canada’s latest inflation data showed price pressures continuing to build, though not as aggressively as feared. Consumer prices rose 2.8% year-over-year versus street expectations of 3.1% and the prior reading of 2.4%, which may help ease concerns that inflation is beginning to reaccelerate materially. Meanwhile, The Home Depot reported quarterly earnings of $3.43 per share versus street estimates of $3.41. Guidance was mixed relative to expectations, with shares trading little changed in premarket activity.
U.S. equity futures are lower this morning:
- Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.8%
- DOW futures down 0.2%
Overseas markets were mixed overnight. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.4% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5%. European equities are trading higher this morning, led by a 1.3% advance in Germany’s DAX, while the FTSE 100 is up 0.5%.
Commodity markets are generally weaker to start the session. Crude Oil is down 0.5%, trading near $108.00 per barrel, while Gasoline is lower by 1.7%. Gold is slipping 0.2% and Copper is down 1.2%, potentially reflecting softer global growth expectations and continued pressure across industrial materials. Silver is bucking the broader trend, rising 1.0% this morning.
In fixed income markets, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is steady near 4.60% while the 30-year Treasury yield is holding around 5.15%. The U.S. Dollar is strengthening today, with the Euro down 0.3% and CAD is lower by 0.2%.
Attention through the remainder of the week may increasingly shift toward the retail and technology sectors. Earnings from major U.S. retailers continue to roll out, including results from Walmart on Thursday morning. However, the primary focus for markets appears centered on Wednesday afternoon’s earnings release from NVIDIA, where both results and forward commentary could have a significant influence on broader sentiment toward AI-related equities and growth leadership trends overall.