World stocks hovered just off all-time highs and were on course for a fourth straight month of gains on Tuesday, as investors awaited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump for signals on infrastructure spending and tax cuts. Global share markets have risen more than 10 per cent since Trump won power in November and investors are hoping a speech to U.S. Congress later will detail his "big" spending promises.
Asian markets were subdued overnight but some upbeat company earnings helped European stocks add 0.1 per cent as the region looked to pull out of a three-day lull and extend a 2.5-per-cent gain this month. n the currency markets, the dollar, which has not taken to the Trump trade quite so enthusiastically, was treading water against most of its major peers, with the only notable move a dip against the yen to 112.41. Gold was also steady, having hit a 3-1/2 month high on Monday and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hovered at about 2.36 pct, some 10 basis points down on where they started the year. That suggests that bond investors at least are fully convinced about a substantial pick-up in U.S. growth and higher interest rates. Currently, the TSX is up 0.12% and the DOW is down 0.07%. EURCAD is up 0.52% trading between 1.3939 and 1.4025. GBPCAD is up 0.33% trading between 1.6353 and 1.6456. JPYCAD is up 0.05% trading between 0.01169 and 0.01180. Gold is up 0.39% trading between $1,250 and $1,258USD/oz., silver is up 0.78% trading between $18.22 and $18.42USD/oz., while oil is down 0.98% trading between $53.43 and $54.20.