Equities
Global markets were mixed in cautious trading as investors assessed conflicting signals from the Middle East conflict, while concerns over the fallout from an energy shock kept gains in check.
Wall Street futures were in the red after major North American markets closed sharply higher yesterday.
TSX futures followed sentiment lower.
In Canada, investors are getting results from Dollarama Inc., Aimia Inc. and Ag Growth International Inc.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from GameStop Corp. and Smithfield Foods Inc.
“The underlying situation is still incredibly fragile or flammable,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
“It doesn’t seem like all of the parties are on the same page... Trump can talk all he likes, but the Strait [of Hormuz] is closed and it’s staying closed until all the Iranians get on the same page, and that’s where we’ve got a problem.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.07 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.02 per cent, Germany’s DAX slid 0.33 per cent and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.11 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.43 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.79 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose on supply fear, as Iran denied it had talks with the United States to end the war in the Gulf, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump who said a deal could be reached soon.
Brent futures gained 1 per cent to US$100.90 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 2.1 per cent to US$89.99.
“By shelving the plan to strike Iranian power plants for five days, the U.S. effectively sucked much of the ‘war premium’ from the oil price,” said KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer.
“Today’s moderate bounce is just the market finding its footing in the mud. Traders are aware that while the missiles are on hold, the Strait of Hormuz is still far from a clear waterway.”
In other commodities, spot gold steadied at about US$4,400 an ounce after falling to US$4,097.99 an ounce, the lowest since Nov. 24. U.S. gold futures for April delivery was little changed at US$4,411.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.65 US cents to 72.92 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.23 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, advanced 0.34 per cent to 99.28.
The euro slid 0.22 per cent to US$1.1590. The British pound fell 0.25 per cent to US$1.3396.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.379 per cent.
Economic news
Japan CPI and PMIs
Euro area manufacturing PMIs
8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP employment report
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada manufacturing sales for February
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. productivity and unit labour costs for the fourth quarter
9:45 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P global PMIs for March
Manitoba budget
With Reuters and The Canadian Press