Futures Inch Lower Ahead of Inflation Report

Futures tracking Canada's main stock index inched lower on Monday ahead of August CPI data, as rising crude prices rekindled inflation worries, while weaker gold prices dampened sentiment.

The TSX restored 191.21 points to close Friday at 35,697.49

The Canadian dollar handed over 0.15 cents to 71.96 cents U.S.

Futures slid 0.2% Monday morning.

The tech sector will remain in focus as AI-linked stocks on Wall Street fell in premarket trading after the heads of Anthropic and OpenAI warned that the pace of AI development needed to slow down.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that the country is seeking a "unique alliance" with the European Union but not a membership.

S&P Dow Jones said on Friday it would revise the eligibility criteria for S&P/TSX Canadian indices, which investors believe could pave the way for the inclusion of copper producer Anglo-Teck.

On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada was to present the consumer price index for August, and manufacturing sales in July. The information was unavailable at broadcast time due to technical difficulties.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange lost 3.02 points Friday to 927.86

ON WALLSTREET

Stock futures fell early Monday as investors monitored a major shakeup in the pipeline for artificial intelligence initial public offerings amid growing safety concerns, along with the latest oil moves.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials faded 70 points, or 0.1%, to 52,929.

Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 51 points, or 0.7%, to 7,676.25.

Futures for the NASDAQ Composite waned 462.50 points, or 1%. to 29,218.25.

Global AI-related stocks fell after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown of the development of AI capabilities, with other major tech figures backing the proposal.

Amodei said in an essay on Saturday that AI companies need to slow the pace of innovation for their best models due to safety risks, and told CBS News on Sunday that the “toughest dilemma” about such a proposal is what would happen if China did not do the same.

Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a Saturday interview an IPO this year would be “ill-advised.”

Nvidia fell 3%, Intel dropped 6% and Marvell Technology was down 7% in pre-market trading. U.S. hyperscalers also fell, with Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft all edging lower.

Elsewhere, oil prices rose more than 2% after Saudi Arabia shuttered a key pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude prices broke above $100 per barrel last week for the first time since May amid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slid 0.8% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.5%.

Oil prices hiked $2.33 to $102.38 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dulled $76.80 to $4,332.10 U.S an ounce.


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