Global stocks were lower as investors braced for potentially market-moving news from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Central bankers from around the world will attend the event, which begins later today, with the key focus on Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech tomorrow as traders try to gauge the chances of a September rate cut.

Wall Street futures were in negative territory after investors continued a rotation out of tech stocks yesterday.

TSX futures followed sentiment lower after Canada’s main stock index closed up yesterday.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Walmart Inc., Intuit Inc., Workday Inc., Ross Stores Inc. and Zoom Communications Inc.

“Strong earnings growth, a resilient underlying economy, and calmer tone on trade, should all keep the path of least resistance higher, while any potential Fed easing would probably provide a helping hand as well,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.3 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.23 per cent, Germany’s DAX slid 0.17 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.53 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.65 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.24 per cent.

Oil prices extended gains, bolstered by signs of strong demand in the U.S., with uncertainty over efforts to end the war in Ukraine also lending support.

Brent crude futures were close to a two-week high and up 0.7 per cent to US$67.30 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.8 per cent to US$63.21 a barrel.

“If the White House’s efforts do result in a halt to hostilities in Ukraine, and Russia gradually coming back into the international fold, it will be bearish for the crude market. But for now the Brent price floor to watch out for remains at $65 a barrel,” said independent analyst Gaurav Sharma.

In other commodities, spot gold as down 0.2 per cent at US$3,340.09 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for December delivery lost 0.2 per cent to trade at US$3,382.30.

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

The day range on the loonie was 72.01 US cents to 72.10 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.75 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was flat to 98.22.

The euro rose 0.09 per cent to US$1.1659. The British pound gained 0.19 per cent to US$1.3481.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.313 per cent.

Japan and Europe PMI: Euro zone businesses saw new orders increase for the first time since May 2024 in August, helping overall activity expand at the fastest pace in 15 months despite persistent weakness in exports.

Japan’s manufacturing activity contracted for the second month in August as U.S. tariffs weighed on overseas demand.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s industrial product and raw materials price indexes for July.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Aug. 16. Estimate is 226,000, up 2,000 from the previous week.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for August.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for July.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for July.

Also: Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium begins (through Saturday)

With Reuters and The Canadian Press