Global markets were subdued as investors assessed fresh corporate earnings reports amid escalating tensions in the Middle East that threatened to fuel energy inflation.

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of retail sales data this morning.

TSX futures were in the red after Canada’s main index edged to a fresh record high yesterday.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Netflix Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., GE Aerospace, Abbott Laboratories and U.S. Bancorp.

“In equities, there is still incredible volatility,” Marlborough fund manager James Athey said. “The market is still flailing a bit, for want of a better word, on how to price the AI trade and the extent to that is sustainable.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.45 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.33 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.58 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.7 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.79 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.33 per cent, boosted by Alibaba shares.

Oil prices eased as traders weighed escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and the risks to oil supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures were down 0.47 per cent to $84.55 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures slid 0.2 per cent to US$79.45 a barrel.

“The market is still reacting with a surprising degree of calmness,” said Ole Hvalbye, market analyst at SEB Research.

“It seems reasonable that prices could continue to climb towards $90-$95 and maybe even touch the $100 mark again and that is because the Strait of Hormuz is repeatedly being disrupted, creating uncertainty over oil flows from the Gulf.”

In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.7 per cent to US$4,032.19 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery lost 0.4 per cent to trade at US$4,037.20.

The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 71.14 US cents to 71.33 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.69 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.06 per cent to 100.54. The dollar was pegged at $1.4042.

The euro edged up 0.03 per cent to US$1.1466. The British pound declined 0.24 per cent to US$1.3506.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.578 per cent.

Euro zone’s trade surplus

8:15 a.m. ET: Canadian housing starts for June. Estimate is an annualized rate decline of 0.5 per cent.

8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. initial jobless claims for week of July 11. Estimate is 222,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.

8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. retail sales for June. The Street is projecting a month-over-month rise of 0.3 per cent.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. NAHB Housing Index for July.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. business inventories for May.

10 a.m. ET: U.S. pending home sales for June.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press