TSX down amid trade developments

Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange was down on Thursday, with investors focus on central bank interest rate decisions, a raft of corporate earnings, and fresh trade developments.

By 12.05 ET, the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract was down 6.2 points, or 0.38%

Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 110 points or 0.4% at  27,259.78

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its latest two-day meeting on Wednesday, and provided few indications that a borrowing cost reduction at its next gathering in September was upcoming.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada also stayed on the sidelines, even as it flagged that the risk of a severe global trade war had eased.

U.S. stocks up

U.S. stocks were down even with strong quarterly results from tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta (NASDAQ:META) Platforms as well as the announcement of another trade deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 330 points, or 0.74% lower, the S&P 500 index lost 23points, or 0.37%, and the NASDAQ Composite was flat.

The main averages on Wall Street were mixed at the end of trading on Thursday, as investors assessed the Fed’s decision to leave rates unchanged after its latest gathering as well the release of a stronger-than-anticipated reading of second-quarter U.S. economic activity, thanks largely to a slide in imports.

Meta, Microsoft surge after robust earnings

Wednesday saw the release of the first batch of results from the so-called "Magnificent Seven" group, with tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms impressing after blowout second-quarter results and guidance.

Meta Platforms stock soared in premarket trading after strength in the Facebook-owner’s crucial advertising business powered better-than-anticipated sales in the April-to-June period and raised hopes that the company’s artificial intelligence investments are beginning to bear fruit.

AI played a major role in results from Microsoft as well, with the nascent technology supercharging performance at the software giant’s cloud computing division.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are set to report their results after the close Thursday.

Trump announces 15% tariffs on S.Korea, 25% on India

President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, with South Korea set to invest $350 billion in the U.S. and purchase $100 billion of energy products.

Additionally, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 50% tariff on semi-finished and copper-intensive products starting Aug. 1, citing national security concerns

He also announced a 25% tariff plus penalties on India starting August 1, citing the country’s purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.

Deals with several countries remain unresolved, with Trump’s elevated "reciprocal" tariffs set to take effect on August 1.

Gold hovers around flatline

Gold prices were mixed, with traders assessing the Fed’s decision and renewed trade tariff jitters ahead of Trump’s looming deadline.

At 12.05 ET, spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,290.64 an ounce, while gold futures were 0.3% lower to $3,343.10 /oz.

Crude retreats

Oil prices slipped lower Thursday, as traders weighed the surprise build in U.S. crude stocks and the weak Chinese economic data, with the potential for lower supplies on Russian sanctions.

At 12.05 ET, Brent futures slipped 1.4% to $71.39 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.4% to $68.98 per barrel.

Both benchmarks settled 1% higher on Wednesday, spurred chiefly by Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on major buyers of Russian crude, in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending its war against Ukraine..

{{8849|U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, with analysts having expected a 1.3 million-barrel draw.

Additionally, the weak Chinese activity data ramped up concerns of future demand from the world’s biggest oil importer.