The new trading week is off to an encouraging start so far. Shanghai soared 2.0% on its return to trading from holidays, the Dax and FTSE are both up 0.5% in European trading, and in North America, US index futures are up 0.2%-0.4%, building on Friday’s 0.5% gain for the S&P 500 and 1.6% gain for the NASDAQ.
The US 10-year treasury note yield is holding steady near 1.90%. Currency action has the Canadian Dollar up 0.3%, gold up 0.5% and Bitcoin up 2.75% against the greenback. Commodity trading is mixed this morning. Natural gas is down 4,1% with weather conditions improving. WTI crude oil is down 0.7% but still holding above $90.00/bbl, and copper is down 0.6%.
Today is very quiet for business news leaving investors to continue digesting last Friday’s mixed North American employment reports and the implications of high wage inflation. The only news of note has been an earnings report from toymaker Hasbro ($1.21 vs street $0.88), and a merger in the US airline sector between Spirit and Frontier.
Earnings season picks up this week in Canada headlined by the Big Three insurance companies reporting on Wednesday. In the US there are still a number of seniors reporting in the Communications and Consumer Staples sectors, but the focus stateside is now turning more toward mid and small cap companies. It’s a light week for economic news but the focus remains firmly on inflation and what it means for interest rates with US consumer prices due on Thursday.
