Global markets edged higher as a cooling of tensions between Russia and the West supported some investor confidence ahead of earnings from artificial intelligence chip maker Nvidia,

Wall Street futures were in positive territory following a mixed close yesterday.

TSX futures were little changed after the market closed higher on a boost from financials and gold miners.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Metro Inc.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Nvidia Corp., Target Corp., Palo Alto Networks Inc. and TJX Cos. Inc.

“(Nvidia) was naturally the key topic on everyone’s mind. Big-picture, a nice beat seems widely anticipated,” said Joshua Meyers, executive director at JPMorgan, in a note to clients.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.35 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.03 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.27 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.19 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.16 per cent, lower while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.21 per cent.

Oil was broadly stable as concerns about escalating hostilities in the Ukraine war potentially disrupting oil supply from Russia offset data showing rising U.S. crude stocks.

Brent crude futures were up 0.3 per cent at US$73.53 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 0.3 per cent to US$69.48.

“We may expect (Brent) oil prices to stay supported above the $70 level for now, as market participants continue to monitor the geopolitical developments,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.

In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at US$2,623.48 an ounce, after hitting its highest levels since Nov. 11 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures dropped 0.2 per cent to US$2,626.80.

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

The day range on the loonie was 71.44 US cents to 71.68 US cents in the early premarket period. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.1 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, climbed 0.43 per cent to 106.66.

The euro fell 0.43 per cent to US$1.0551. The British pound slid 0.18 per cent to US$1.2658.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.429 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

Japan’s trade deficit and machine tool orders

British CPI, which jumped more than expected to an annualized 2.3 per cent last month, rising back above the Bank of England’s 2-per cent target. Underlying price growth gathered speed too, as the central bank moves cautiously on interest rate cuts.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s construction investment for September.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press