Equities
Global markets turned lower as equities remained on track for their steepest weekly drop in a year with the conflict in the Middle East showed few signs of easing.
Wall Street futures tended declines as a softer-than-expected jobs report raised worries about the labour market and boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could imminently cut interest rates.
TSX futures followed sentiment lower after major North American markets closed down yesterday.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. and AltaGas Ltd.
The “combination of rising energy prices, more hawkish central bank expectations, higher yields and weaker appetite for risk assets will likely remain in play as long as Middle East tensions have a lasting impact on oil and gas prices,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.75 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.78 per cent, Germany’s DAX slid 0.68 per cent and France’s CAC 40 eased 0.66 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.62 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.62 per cent.
Commodities
Crude oil was set for its strongest weekly gain since the extreme volatility of the COVID‑19 pandemic in spring 2020, as conflict in the Middle East kept shipping and energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz halted.
Brent crude futures have surged 24 per cent this week, while West Texas Intermediate has jumped nearly 30 per cent.
Brent crude futures were up 5.4 per cent to US$90 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 8 per cent to US$87.46.
Oil started its aggressive rally after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, with Iran then halting tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply.
“With every passing day, halted activities in Hormuz will have two major impacts on oil: the inability to store 20 million barrels per day and the lack of flow to the world, which could drive global energy prices higher,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.3 per cent to US$5,093.76 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.5 per cent to US$5,102.10.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.07 US cents to 73.35 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.21 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.03 per cent to 99.29.
The euro dropped 0.31 per cent to US$1.1574. The British pound edged up 0.04 per cent to US$1.3363.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.116 per cent.
Economic news
Euro zone’s GDP
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for February. Data showed the U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs, compared with an estimated rise of 60,000 jobs month-over-month. The unemployment rate stood at 4.4 per cent, compared with expectations of 4.3 per cent.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. retail sales for January, which fell by 0.2 per cent, compared with the expected decline of 0.3 per cent from December.
10 a.m. ET: Canada’s Ivey PMI for February.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. business inventories for December.
3 p.m. ET: U.S. consumer credit for January.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press