Global markets were down on Tuesday with investors waiting on the outcome of U.S. trade talks and reacting to a failed bid by Germany’s leader to form government.

Stocks were lower, with investors waiting for news on trade deals and looking ahead to the U.S. central bank rate decision on Wednesday.

Wall Street and TSX futures were down in premarket trading.

In Canada, investors are getting results from George Weston Ltd; energy companies Meg Energy and Suncor Energy Inc.; real estate firms Dream Industrial REIT and Boardwalk REIT; Colliers International Group Inc.; and mining company Kinross Gold Corp.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Marriott International Inc.

Investors’ attention has been on the possibility of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as other countries President Donald Trump has targeted with tariffs. Trump recently said he’s meeting with various countries and that his main priority with China is to secure a fair deal.

On Tuesday, Trump is set to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Washington, with the two leaders expected to discuss trade and security.

“We’ve seen a backpedaling and the trade risk has become lower,” said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank.

But with few details coming out about trade discussions, investors have been left trying to make sense of headlines coming out of the White House.

“Now we need to see some deals being announced otherwise the rise in stocks will fade again,” Skovgaard added.

Traders were also waiting on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates steady but the spotlight will be on how policymakers are likely to navigate a tariff-ridden path.

“The Fed remains caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Christian Scherrmann, DWS chief U.S. economist. “We think they will opt for a slightly more hawkish tone, but more in the direction of an extended pause than a potential hike.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.79 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.21 per cent, Germany’s DAX was down 1.69 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was in the red by 0.89 per cent.

Investors were processing a surprise from Germany where conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor in an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the Social Democrats.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.7 per cent. Markets were closed in Japan for a holiday.

Oil gained more than US$1.50 per barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from Monday’s lowest levels since February, 2021 on technical factors and bargain hunting after a decision by OPEC+ to boost output sent prices down the previous session.

Brent crude futures rose US$1.67, or 2.8 per cent, to US$61.90 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude added US$1.61, or 2.8 per cent, to US$58.74

Concerns about a market surplus persisted despite the rebound.

“It’s rather surprising that we got this rebound this morning,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.

“But US$60 [a barrel] is a psychological line. When oil drops down below US$60, you get people saying all right this is a great price.”

In other commodities, spot gold rose 1.2 per cent to US$3,372.01 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar was flat against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.22 US cents to 72.42 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 3.17 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, lost 0.03 per cent to 99.80. The euro was relatively flat at US$1.1316. The British pound rose 0.15 per cent to US$1.3317.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was flat at 4.356 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

Japan markets closed

China and Euro zone services and composite PMI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s merchandise trade balance for March.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods and services trade deficit for March.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Global Supply Chain Pressure Index for April.

(10 a.m. ET) Canada’s Ivey PMI for April.