What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Global markets drifted as the rally fuelled by China’s stimulus measures lost steam, and investors again set sights on economic data and future rate moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Wall Street had a subdued start amid investor caution. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.07 per cent to 42,236.09, the S&P 500 fell 0.01 per cent to 5,733.65, and Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.13 per cent to 18,050.357 at the bell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened 0.01 higher at 23,955.21, as gains in technology stocks were countered by losses in consumer discretionary shares.
In Canada, investors are getting results from AGF Management Ltd., which has reported net income attributable to equity owners totalled $20.3-million in the third quarter, down from $23-million a year earlier.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Cintas Corp. and Micron Technology Inc.
Data released yesterday showing a drop in U.S. consumer confidence in September spurred the odds on another 50-basis-point Fed rate cut in November to more than 60 per cent from 53 per cent a day earlier, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
“It feels like more is coming on the rate cutting side,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier in Geneva.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was little changed in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.07 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.23 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.18 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.19 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.68 per cent.
Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent as investors reassessed the ability of China’s stimulus plans to boost the economy enough to drive more fuel demand growth in the world’s largest crude importer.
Brent crude futures were down 1.46 per cent at US$74.07 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) slid 1.59 per cent to US$70.42 a barrel.
“The lack of a more concrete fiscal approach [from China] still instils some reservations over whether the economic boost can be sustained,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
In other commodities, spot gold was steady at US$2,655.35 an ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $2,670.43 earlier. U.S. gold futures gained 0.1 per cent to US$2,679.60.
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 74.31 US cents to 74.52 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.24 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, edged lower to 100.43.
The euro advanced 0.14 per cent to US$1.1197. The British pound fell 0.15 per cent to US$1.3395.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 3.761 per cent.
Cintas Corp. has raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts, banking on resilient demand for its products that range from rental uniforms, cleaning supplies to first aid and safety kits. It reported first-quarter revenue rose 6.8 per cent to US$2.5-billion from a year ago, in line with analyst estimates. Profit of US$1.10 a share beat forecasts.
Germany retail sales
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s population estimates for the second quarter, which grew 0.6 per cent to an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for August. Consensus is an annualized rate decline of 5.8 per cent.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press