Shares struggled for direction on Wednesday and oil prices slid as investors awaited a raft of important economic data that could underscore this week’s corporate warnings about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The U.S. is due to report advance first quarter GDP data at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show the economy stalled or even contracted in the first quarter, swamped by a deluge of imported goods by businesses eager to avoid higher costs. Canada’s monthly GDP for February will also be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Nasdaq futures were down 0.67 per cent in Asia, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.5 per cent.

TSX futures were down.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP, Cenovus Energy Inc., CGI Inc, GFL Environmental Holdings Inc., Loblaw Companies Ltd., Parkland Fuel Corp., among others.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

“We raise the probability of a prolonged economic stagnation in the coming months, meeting the criteria for a recession, to 50 per cent,” said David Kohl, chief economist at Julius Baer.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.12 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.062 per cent, Germany’s DAX was up 0.37 per cent and France’s CAC 40 was up 0.34 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.57 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.51 per cent.

Brent crude futures were down 1.85 per cent to $63.06 a barrel, having tumbled 2.4 per cent overnight. U.S. crude lost 1.7 per cent to US$59.38 per barrel.

The key benchmarks are also set for their largest monthly drop in almost three and a half years with Brent having lost 15.4 per cent and WTI 17 per cent.

In other commodities, spot gold was down 1.18 per cent at US$3,294.10 an ounce as of this morning. However, bullion was on track to log its fourth consecutive monthly gain, up 5.1 per cent so far in April.

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

The day range on the loonie was 72.21 US cents to 72.37 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 2.93 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, was up 0.13 per cent to 99.37.

The euro was down 0.09 per cent to US$1.14. The British pound was down 0.29 per cent to US$1.3371.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.165 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

Canada’s business leaders see a window of opportunity for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new government to push through big changes for Canada’s economy while voters are unusually united about the key issues confronting the country – but they want to see results quickly.

Royal Bank of Canada has dropped its sustainable finance targets – including a $500-billion commitment to decarbonization efforts – blaming the country’s anti-greenwashing provisions and changing measurement practices.

(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP national employment report for April.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s monthly GDP for February. The Street is projecting a month-over-month decline of 0.1 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. real GDP and price index for Q1. Consensus is annualized rate increases of 0.3 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. employment cost index for Q1. Consensus is a rise of 0.9 per cent from Q4 and up 3.5 per cent year-over-year.

(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s summary of deliberations for the April 16 decision are released.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press