Equities
Global markets were higher as investors assessed the economic damage from a prolonged Middle East conflict while central bank interest rate decisions loom.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets closed higher yesterday.
TSX futures rose as commodity prices climbed.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc.
The Federal Open Market Committee “is likely to defer action until it becomes clear whether the output or price effects are dominant,” said Steve Englander, global head of G10 FX research at Standard Chartered.
“We would be surprised if the FOMC indicated a strong direction on the impact of the war, as it has no way of knowing how long the war will last or whether the biggest response will be on activity or inflation.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.67 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.92 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.53 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.83 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.09 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.13 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices were on the rise, clawing back some of yesterday’s losses on renewed supply fears, with the Strait of Hormuz largely shut and U.S. allies rejecting calls to deploy warships to escort tankers through the key chokepoint.
Brent futures gained 3 per cent to US$103.20 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 3.13 per cent to US$96.43.
“The risks remain stark: It only takes one Iranian militia to fire a missile or plant a mine on a passing tanker to reignite the entire situation,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
In other commodities, spot gold was little changed at US$5,001.36 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.1 per cent to US$5,005.20.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.93 US cents to 73.11 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.44 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.08 per cent to 99.63.
The euro advanced 0.23 per cent to US$1.1534. The British pound gained 0.22 per cent to US$1.3350.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.207 per cent.
Economic news
5 a.m. ET: Canadian existing home sales and average prices for February. Sales across the country slid 1.3 per cent from January and 8.1 per cent year-over-year, compared with estimates of declines of 2 per cent and 7 per cent.
5 a.m. ET: Canada’s MLS Home Price Index for February, which dipped 0.6 per cent month-over-month and was down 4.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Forecasts were for an annualized drop of 5 per cent.
8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP employment (4-week average change) for Feb. 28.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. leading indicator for February.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. pending home sales for February. The Street is projecting a decline of 1 per cent from January.
Also: New Brunswick’s budget is released and U.S. Fed meeting begins
With Reuters and The Canadian Press