Global markets were mostly lower, weighed ​down by technology stocks following quarterly results from U.S. giant Alphabet, while markets assessed developments in the Middle East conflict.

Wall Street futures were in negative territory ahead of another heavy corporate earnings day.

TSX futures followed sentiment lower after Canada’s main stock market hit a fresh record high yesterday.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Teck Resources Ltd. and Ovintiv Inc.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Intel Corp., RTX Corp., T-Mobile US Inc., Union Pacific Corp., Newmont Corp., Blackstone Inc., Norfolk Southern Corp., Freeport-McMoran Inc., American Airlines Group Inc., FirstService Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

Alphabet has increased ​its capital spending plans for 2026 by US$15-billion, adding to doubts whether the AI investments materialize into returns and sending its stock down more than 3 per cent in premarket trading.

“The knee-jerk reaction to Alphabet’s earnings sets the tone for the upcoming Big Tech results: investors are increasingly focused on the mounting cost of AI ambitions rather than revenue beats,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.

“They don’t want more spending, even if that spending boosts revenue and helps prevent a company like Alphabet from falling behind in the AI race.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.7 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.19 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 0.63 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 1.1 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.46 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.28 per cent.

Oil prices hit their highest in more than a month, rising for a fifth ‌day as escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran stoked fears of supply disruptions across oil transit routes.

Brent crude futures were up 4.5 per cent to US$98.28 ⁠a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 3.75 per cent to US$90.09.

“The immediate outlook for ​crude oil remains supportive as markets price a ⁠worrying probability of supply interruptions in a second chokepoint,” said ⁠Pepperstone research strategist Ahmad Assiri.

Besides the renewed conflict over control of the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen’s Houthis have opened a new front by targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and trying to impose a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.

In other commodities, spot gold dropped 0.9 per cent to US$4,091.24 an ounce. ​U.S. gold futures for August delivery ‌fell 1.4 per cent to US$4,093.80.

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

The day range on the loonie was 70.95 US cents to 71.14 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.85 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 101.15. The dollar was pegged at $1.4083.

The euro slipped 0.02 per cent to US$1.1410. The British pound edged down 0.01 per cent to US$1.3370.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.682 per cent.

7 a.m. ET: CFIB Business Barometer

8:15 a.m. ET: ECB monetary policy announcement

8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian retail sales for May. Consensus is for a rise of 1 per cent. An advance estimate for June will also be released

8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims

Euro area consumer confidence survey

With Reuters and The Canadian Press