Investors cashed out of highly valued global stocks ahead of a crucial week for markets that includes U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline and key central bank interest rate decisions in Canada and the United States.

Wall Street futures were mixed after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs yesterday.

TSX futures were in negative territory after Canada’s main stock index edged lower yesterday.

Ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for U.S. trade deals, stock markets have been buoyed by firm U.S. economic data and framed the risk of tariffs hitting growth as a reason to expect Federal Reserve rate cuts.

“Higher (U.S.) inflation will, in time, result in weaker demand and weaker investment,” UBS Wealth Management economist Dean Turner said.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.35 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.34 per cent, Germany’s DAX fell 0.61 per cent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.1 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.88 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.09 per cent.

Oil prices were stable as trade talk optimism supported the outlook for both the global economy and oil demand, balancing news of the potential for more oil supply from Venezuela.

Brent crude futures were up 0.55 per cent at US$69.56 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.51 per cent to US$66.37.

“Trade talk optimism appears to be offsetting expectations for stronger Venezuelan supply,” ING analysts wrote in a client note.

In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.6 per cent to $3,347.28 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.7 per cent to $3,349.80.

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

The day range on the loonie was 73.09 US cents to 73.34 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.02 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, climbed 0.31 per cent to 97.68.

The euro slid 0.1 per cent to US$1.1737. The British pound dropped 0.35 per cent to US$1.3461.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.421 per cent.

Business and consumer confidence readings released throughout Europe

Ottawa releases its budget balance

8:30 am ET: U.S. durable goods orders for June. Consensus is for a decline of 10.8 per cent, but core orders are seen up 0.2 per cent.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press