Global stocks climbed as hopes for a U.S. interest-rate cut next week helped keep markets afloat.

Wall Street futures edged higher after major U.S. markets closed down yesterday. Dow futures were up 0.02 per cent, S&P 500 futures rose 0.04 per cent and Nasdaq futures were 0.12 per cent higher at 4 a.m. ET.

TSX futures were in positive territory after Canada’s main stock market was weighed down yesterday by tech share losses.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Bank of Nova Scotia.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., Marvell Technologies Inc. and Pure Storage Inc.

“Yesterday’s U.S. data highlighted economic weakness beyond AI hype: Factory activity contracted for the ninth straight month, orders fell at the steepest pace in four months and employment shrank,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.

“Judging by the data and Fed funds futures, a rate cut next week seems highly likely; otherwise, the market reaction would be severe.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.34 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.38 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 0.76 per cent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.44 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.24 per cent.

Oil prices held firm as traders weighed up risks from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy sites and mounting U.S.-Venezuela tension.

Brent crude futures fell 0.3 per cent to US$62.99 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 0.2 per cent to trade at $59.19 a barrel.

“Focus is ... on the Ukrainian peace talks, which might result in Russia increasing its crude oil and product exports once again, although this process is likely to be protracted,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.

In other commodities, spot gold fell 0.7 per cent to US$4,203.55 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were down 0.9 per cent at US$4,234.40 an ounce.

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

The day range on the loonie was 71.34 US cents to 71.47 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.67 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.09 per cent to 99.50.

The euro slid 0.03 per cent to US$1.1607. The British pound fell 0.14 per cent to US$1.3195.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.095 per cent.

Fairstone Bank of Canada will buy peer Laurentian Bank in an all-cash deal valued at $1.9-billion, the lender says.

Japan consumer confidence

Euro zone jobless rate and CPI

With Reuters and The Canadian Press