Equities
Global markets made gains even as investors focused on the war on Iran that they fear will drive inflation and raise the risk of recession across the globe.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after North American markets closed mixed yesterday.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Nike Inc., McCormick & Co. Inc. and Beyond Meat Inc.
McCormick, which has reached a deal with Unilever to merge their food businesses, beat first-quarter sales forecasts, helped by resilient demand for its seasonings and condiments. It reported revenue of US$1.87-billion, compared with estimates of $1.79-billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
“We’re in oversold condition and then that coupled with this element of potentially encouraging news has helped to shape the bounce that we’re seeing today,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index. She cautioned, however, that the move should be treated carefully.
“We’ve seen this numerous times in recent weeks where there’s a comment from [U.S. President Donald] Trump which has been encouraging only for that optimism to fade once again.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.97 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.96 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.98 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.8 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.58 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.15 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices were volatile as investors weighed the possibility of Trump ending the Iran war against supply shocks from a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global oil flows.
Brent crude futures for June delivery were up 0.35 per cent to $107.76 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May climbed 1 per cent to US$103.90 a barrel.
“While diplomatic signals remain mixed, the ground reality suggests that uncertainty will persist,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.
“Even in the event of de-escalation, restoring damaged infrastructure will take time, keeping supply tight.”
In other commodities, spot gold rose 1.1 per cent to US$4,559.46 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 0.7 per cent to US$4,588.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.70 US cents to 71.86 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.86 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.1 per cent to 100.41.
The euro climbed 0.13 per cent to US$1.1480. The British pound advanced 0.24 per cent to US$1.3216.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.309 per cent.
Economic news
China PMIs. Japan CPI, jobless rate, retail sales and industrial production
Euro area CPI for March, Europe’s inflation rate rose to 2.5 per cent as the Iran war sent fuel prices sharply higher. It had been forecast to be at 2.6 per cent from a year earlier, accelerating from February’s 1.9 per cent.
Canada’s economy eked out a modest gain in January, with monthly gross domestic product rising 0.1 per cent as strength in most goods-producing industries offset lingering manufacturing weakness, data showed. Estimates had been flat.
9 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Cotality Case-Shiller home price index
10 a.m. ET: U.S. job openings and labour turnover survey for February
10 a.m. ET: U.S. conference board consumer confidence index
With Reuters and The Canadian Press