Global markets were under pressure after U.S. inflation data suggested tariffs are pushing up prices, dampening expectations for Federal Reserve policy easing.

Wall Street futures were mixed after the Nasdaq reached a new high yesterday on news that Nvidia would resume selling AI chips to China.

TSX futures were little changed after Canada’s main stock market closed yesterday off Monday’s record high.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Kinder Morgan Inc., Prologis Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc.

“We know the revealed preference of Fed Chair Powell, along with a few of his colleagues, is to wait for these tariff impacts to come through, and those in that camp are seeing that view bolstered by this data,” Taylor Nugent, senior economist at National Australia Bank, said in a podcast.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.08 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.2 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.31 per cent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.07 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.03 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.29 per cent.

Oil prices steadied in a tight trading range, as signs of firm summer demand in the world’s two largest consumers, the United States and China, competed with concerns about the wider economic impact from U.S. tariffs.

Brent crude futures eased 0.3 per cent to US$68.54 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.2 per cent to US$66.41 a barrel.

“Strong seasonal demand is currently providing upward momentum to oil prices, as summer travel and industrial activity peak,” LSEG analysts said in a note.

“Increased gasoline consumption, especially in the U.S. during the Fourth of July holiday period, has signalled robust fuel demand, helping offset bearish pressures from rising inventories and tariff concerns.”

In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.6 per cent to US$3,341.29 an ounce. U.S. gold futures edged up 0.3 per cent to US$3,348.20.

The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 72.84 US cents to 72.96 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.21 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.05 per cent to 98.56.

The euro rose 0.06 per cent to US$1.1610. The British pound gained 0.07 per cent to US$1.3393.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.476 per cent.

Euro area trade surplus. Italy and the U.K. release inflation data.

8:30 am ET: U.S. producer price index final demand for June. Consensus is for a year over year increase of 2.4 per cent.

9:15 am ET: U.S. industrial production for June. Consensus is for a rise of 0.1 per cent.

2 pm ET: U.S. releases Beige book of economic conditions.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press