Bay Street Seen Opening On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Lower Canadian and U.S. futures amid rising concerns about U.S.-China trade disputes, and sluggish commodity prices point to a weak opening for the Canadian stock market on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's reported comments that he expected to move ahead with a 25% tariff on $200 billion in Chinese imports, a 15% increase to the existing 10% levy, will weigh on the market.

Just a few days ahead of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that is slated to take place at the G20 summit in Argentina, Trump has reportedly told the Wall Street Journal that chances of his accepting China's request to hold off on the increase was "highly unlikely." The higher tariff is due to take effect on January 1.

Now, it is feared that in the event of the negotiations between the two countries turning out to be a failure, then the Trump administration will impose tariffs on the rest of the Chinese imports as well.

On Monday, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index failed to hold early gains and ended flat. It settled with a small gain of 1.92 points, or 0.01%, at 15,012.65, after scaling a high of 15,127.13 and a low of 14,994.34 intraday.

In company news, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) reported earnings of $2.27 billion or $1.71 per diluted share for the three months ended Oct. 31, up from $2.07 billion or $1.64 per diluted share in net income during the same time last year. However, the figures were short of analyst expectations.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MLF.TO) announced that it is building a $660-million fresh-poultry facility in London, that will enhance its ability to process higher-margin products by closing three aging plants in Ontario.

Asian markets ended mostly higher, despite trade war concerns. Trump, who said the 25% tariffs on imports from China will not be delayed, added that he could slap 10% tariffs on Apple's iPhones and laptops imported from China.

European markets were mostly subdued in cautious trade ahead of U.S.-China trade negotiations.

In economic news, France's consumer confidence dropped in November to its lowest level since early 2015, survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The corresponding index fell to 92 from 95 in October. Economists had forecast a score of 94.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January were down marginally at $51.60 a barrel.

Natural gas futures for January were down $0.062, or 1.44%, at $4.236 per btu.

Gold futures for February were up $1.50, or 0.12%, at $1,230.20 an ounce.

Silver futures for March were gaining $0.052, or 0.37%, at $14.395 an ounce, while Copper futures were down $0.026, or 0.94%, at $2.747 per pound.