Before the Bell: What Canadian investors need to know today

Global markets were mixed ahead of a heavy week of corporate earnings and central bank meetings, while oil and precious metals fell sharply and TSX futures tracked lower as commodity prices sank.

Global shares were mixed ahead of a week that includes major corporate earnings, central bank meetings and key economic data. Wall Street futures were in the red after U.S. markets closed lower on Friday, and TSX futures followed as commodity prices fell. The article mentions earnings from Walt Disney, Palantir and Teradyne among others. Key market moves: - European and U.K. indexes were mostly flat to slightly lower: STOXX 600 down 0.07%, FTSE 100 up 0.09%, DAX up 0.19%, CAC 40 up 0.05%. - Asian markets retreated: Japan's Nikkei closed about 1.25% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell about 2.23%. - Oil prices fell after a U.S. political comment signalled possible de-escalation with Iran: Brent crude fell about 5.2% to US$65.69 a barrel and WTI dropped about 5.5% to US$61.61 a barrel. - Precious metals moved sharply lower: spot gold slipped about 6.1% to US$4,565.79 an ounce and spot silver fell about 12% to US$74.48 an ounce. - Currencies and bond yields showed modest moves: the Canadian dollar traded roughly between 73.11 and 73.51 U.S. cents in early trading, the U.S. dollar index was near 97.08, and the U.S. 10-year yield was about 4.222%. Summary: The coming days feature a heavy schedule of corporate earnings and central bank meetings that market participants are watching for fresh signals. Undetermined at this time.