Global markets have been trading flat to moderately lower, with soft IFO survey results out of Germany weighing on sentiment while traders await Friday's speech from Fed Chair Yellen.
US index futures are down 0.1% with the FTSE 100 down 0.4% and the DAX down 0.8%. Crude oil is up 0.2% while gold and other major currencies are trading within 0.3% on either side of flat.
The focus for trading today is mainly on individual stocks and groups. Two more Canadian banks have reported today. CIBC beat the street by a wide margin, reporting EPS of $2.67, way above the street which was at $2.35. Stellar results from retail and business banking led the charge. A small 7% increase over year in loan loss provisions were blamed on individual and card loans.
Toronto Dominion Bank (TO:TD) reported earnings of $1.27, above the street's $1.21. Growth was driven by gains in US retail banking, TD Ameritrade and wholesale banking, while Canadian retail was flat, reminiscent of the Bank of Montreal's report FromTuesday.
Overall, Canadian banks have been reporting strong results, with US operations and capital markets outperforming a steady Canada banking environment.
In the UK today Entertainment One (LON:ETO), the producer of Peppa Pig, is down 16% after ITV (LON:ITV) dropped its £1.0B hostile takeover bid.
US markets could be active around today's durable goods orders report. While US consumer spending has been really strong in recent months, traders may look to these numbers for signs of whether consumer momentum is carrying over into industry or not. Because of this, the capital goods nondefense ex air measure may attract particular attention this time around.