Please note that the Morning Minutes will be taking our annual summer break for the next three weeks. It should return on Wednesday, September 6th.
Moving into the dog days of August, trading action has been relatively quiet overnight and this morning. US index futures are all essentially flat, continuing on from yesterday’s steady day for US indices. European trading finds the Dax down 0.5% and the FTSE down 1.0%.
Commodity action is mixed today with Copper falling 1.5%, while Natural Gas has rallied 1.8% and WTI Crude Oil is up 0.4%. Gold is holding steady along with major paper currencies, while the US 10-year treasury note yield has climbed up toward 4.10%.
US producer prices were slightly worse than expected (0.8% vs street 0.7%), but still at a relatively low level when compared with yesterday’s US consumer price report.
Continuing the theme of a big rebound year for summer travel, Air Canada announced very strong quarterly earnings this morning ($1.86 vs street $0.77). Constellation Software is scheduled to report results after the close today.
News related to retailers dominates the calendar for next week with monthly retail sales data for the US due on Tuesday. Earnings season for US retailers runs for the next two weeks, starting with Home Depot and Walmart next week. Canadian banks report results toward the end of the month.
The main economic event remaining this month is the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole Symposium which runs from August 24th to the 26th. This event usually features speakers from central bankers around the world. The main event for markets may be Fed Chair Powell’s keynote address which investors may look to for hints of whether the Fed is looking to continue raising interest rates or if the FOMC is ready to pause again. Monday September 1st looks to be a busy day headlined by US nonfarm payrolls and Manufacturing PMI reports from around the world.
