Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today

Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today S.R. SLOBODIAN PUBLISHED 33 MINUTES AGO UPDATED 4 MINUTES AGO COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Equities Global markets were mixed as investors awaited a widely forecast interest rate hike from the European Central Bank, and a wave of attacks in the Middle East left them nervous ‌ahead of U.S. inflation data that will influence monetary policy in that country. Wall Street futures were muted with the Nasdaq pointing lower after major North American markets closed down yesterday. TSX futures were in positive territory. In Canada, investors are getting results from Empire Co. Ltd., Descartes Systems Group Inc., Transat A.T. Inc. and Groupe Dynamite Inc. On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Oracle Corp., Adobe Inc. and Macy’s Inc. “European Central Bank (ECB) officials are expected to raise rates by another 25 [basis points] today, as the renewed surge in energy prices pushed headline inflation back above 3 per cent in the euro area,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note. “The bad news is that higher borrowing costs weigh on valuations. But the good news is that this week’s potential 25bp hike is almost entirely priced in.” Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.09 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.29 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.17 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.22 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.2 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.27 per cent.    DOW FUTURES 52,530.00+105.00 (0.20%) S&P 500 FUTURES 7,652.50+8.75 (0.11%) TSX 60 FUTURES 2,100.50+0.20 (0.01%) PAST DAY 0.20% 0.11% 0.01% CLOSE, SEPT. 9 4:55 A.M., SEPT. 10 SOURCE: BARCHART Commodities Oil prices continued to climb as ​Brent crude remained above US$100 a barrel and ‌traders braced for deeper supply disruptions after Iran and the United States launched their largest attacks on shipping since their six-month-old conflict began. Brent crude futures ⁠rose 0.48 per cent to US$101.80 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at US$96.72, up 0.74 per cent. Brent prices have surged roughly 30 per cent from lows touched in early August as a permanent agreement between the U.S. and ​Iran to cease attacks has not materialized and ‌fighting resumed later in the month. “Renewed hostilities…