Equities
Global stocks slid as the escalating conflict in the Middle East cast a shadow over markets and spurred inflation fears.
Wall Street futures pointed higher after a selloff in major North American markets yesterday.
TSX futures were muted ahead of key jobs numbers for February.
“With the possibility of higher oil prices still elevated, investors should be prepared for continued volatility and potentially further downside in the near term,” said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC in Singapore.
Wall Street’s week ahead: Investors await Fed rate outlook as Iran war keeps markets on edge
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.36 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.1 per cent, Germany’s DAX retreated 0.52 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.66 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.16 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.98 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices eased as disruptions in the Gulf from the Middle East war countered U.S. and International Energy Agency measures to ease supply concerns.
Brent futures declined 1.24 per cent to $99.21 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April was down 1.87 per cent to US$93.71 a barrel.
The U.S. issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea in a bid to stabilize global energy markets.
“Russian oil was already going to buyers; this is not bringing additional barrels to the market,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.
“The market is starting to get very concerned that this [war] is going to last longer. The big fear is that we have severe damage to oil infrastructure, which would be a lasting loss of supply.”
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.2 per cent to US$5,087.61 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery slipped 0.16 per cent to US$5,092.60.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 73.10 US cents to 73.42 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.39 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, jumped 0.38 per cent to 100.12.
The euro fell 0.45 per cent to US$1.1462. The British pound dropped 0.61 per cent to US$1.3262.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.276 per cent.
Economic news
Euro zone’s industrial production.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s employment for February. Consensus is a gain of 10,000 jobs with the unemployment rate rising 0.1 per cent to $6.6 per cent and average hourly wages rising 3.2 per cent year-over-year.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s capacity utilization for Q4.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s manufacturing sales and new orders for January.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian new motor vehicle sales for January.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. personal spending and income for January. The Street is expecting month-over-month gains of 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. core PCE price index for January. Consensus is a rise of 0.4 per cent from December and up 3.1 per cent year-over-year.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. durable and core orders for January.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. GDP for Q4.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. job openings for January. Estimate is 6.75 million, up 208,000 from the previous month.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press