USD/CAD up slightly as Mark Carney’s Liberals Win Canada Election

The US dollar gained slightly vs the Canadian dollar following Canada's election results but the buck is on track for its largest monthly drop in years. European and US futures rose slightly after Trump partially walked back automotive tariffs, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said de-escalation is up to China. Markets are also reacting to key earnings reports, including from Deutsche Bank and HSBC.

Equities

The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Monday but managed to extend its winning streak to an eleventh consecutive session, the longest since December 2019. Healthcare stocks supported the index, with AstraZeneca rising by 1.2% and GSK climbing 1.4%. Both companies benefited from strong investor interest in defensive sectors amid ongoing concerns about trade policy.

The FTSE 250 rose by 0.6%, helped by sharp gains in consumer-facing firms. Deliveroo led the mid-cap index, surging 16.5% after confirming it had received a takeover proposal from US peer DoorDash earlier in April. Entain also advanced strongly, up 6.8%, after its joint venture BetMGM swung to a first-quarter profit on the back of strong e-betting demand.

Turning to the United States, the S&P 500 edged up by 0.06%, marking its fifth consecutive daily gain, although it remains more than 10% below its February record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.28% to close at 40,227.59, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped by 0.1%. Trading was choppy, and although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly touched their highest levels since early April, declines in heavyweight technology stocks weighed on sentiment.

Nvidia fell 2.1%, putting pressure on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after reports that China's Huawei Technologies was preparing to test an artificial-intelligence chip to replace some of Nvidia’s high-end products.

Boeing shares climbed 2.4% after Bernstein raised its rating and price target for the aerospace company. Spirit AeroSystems gained 2.6% following an announcement that Airbus had agreed to take over some of its plants.

Across the board, about 180 S&P 500 components are due to report results this week, with investors closely watching earnings from Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. Although first-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 companies are forecast to grow by 10.9% compared to last year, concerns remain high about the potential impact of new US tariffs on corporate profitability.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar edged higher on Tuesday, supported by relief in trade tensions after the Trump administration announced a softening of automotive tariffs.

The Canadian dollar weakened slightly following Canada's election results, where Mark Carney's Liberals retained power without securing a majority. The euro traded at $1.1376, maintaining a 5% gain for April, on course for its strongest monthly performance against the dollar in nearly three years. Meanwhile, the dollar’s 6.7% fall against the Swiss franc marked its steepest monthly drop in a decade. Movements in the British pound were not detailed.

In the commodities market, gold prices fell by around 0.8% to $3,314.65 an ounce as easing trade tensions reduced demand for safe-haven assets. Spot silver dropped by 0.6% to $32.98 an ounce, platinum eased 0.2% to $984.65.

Oil prices also fell as concerns over global demand weighed on sentiment. Brent crude slipped 0.8% to $65.35 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by the same percentage to $61.55 a barrel.

Barclays revised its 2025 Brent crude forecast lower by $4 to $70 a barrel, citing an expected surplus of one million barrels per day and heightened trade tensions. US crude inventories were also expected to show a build of 500,000 barrels, with figures due from the American Petroleum Institute later in the day.