Global stocks advanced as investors kept a cautious eye on U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff moves.

Trump has announced plans to impose a 50-per-cent tariff on copper imports. He said the levies would come into effect on Aug. 1.

He also threatened a punitive 50-per*cent tariff on Brazil’s exports to the U.S. on Wednesday and issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners.

Wall Street futures were down after major U.S. markets closed higher yesterday with Federal Reserve meeting minutes fueling hopes that inflation pressures from Trump’s tariffs would not derail interest rate cuts this year.

TSX futures were in positive territory after inching closer to Friday’s record high yesterday.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Aritzia Inc.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Conagra Brands Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc.

The market reaction to Trump’s tariff developments this week was less severe than in April, and Jeff Ng, SMBC’s head of Asia macroeconomic strategy, said investors had grown somewhat “numb” to the ever-changing situation.

“They know that there is still room for negotiation. A lot of these announcements, they start off with eye-catching numbers, but they are not totally final, and they are still subject to changes. Even if they are implemented, they could also be reversed in the coming few months to year,” he said.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.59 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.05 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.12 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.66 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.44 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.57 per cent.

Oil prices eased as investors weighed the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth.

Brent crude futures were down 0.3 per cent to US$69.96 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.5 per cent to US$68.06 a barrel.

Trump’s history of backpedaling on tariffs has caused the market to become less reactive, said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

“People are largely in wait and see mode, given the erratic nature of policy making and the flexibility the administration is showing around tariffs,” he said.

In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to US$3,328.23 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were up 0.5 per cent at US$3,336.90.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 73.00 US cents to 73.019 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.56 per cent against the greenback over the past month. 

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.16 per cent to 97.40. 

The euro edged up 0.08 per cent to US$1.1732. The British pound rose 0.18 per cent to US$1.3611.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.352 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of July 5. The Street is projecting 239,000, up 6,000 from the previous week.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press