Equities
Global markets took back some of yesterday’s relief rally as cracks quickly began to appear in the fragile Persian Gulf truce, nudging oil prices back up and reminding investors the inflationary fallout would last a long while yet.
Wall Street futures were in the red as markets assessed an in-line inflation reading and its impact on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.
TSX futures followed sentiment lower.
In Canada, investors are getting results from BlackBerry Ltd., Cogeco Inc., Cogeco Communications Inc., Roots Corp. and Richelieu Hardware Ltd.
As Globe technology reporter Sean Silcoff writes, BlackBerry reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings and laid out a rosier outlook than analysts had anticipated for this year.
“It is very difficult for investors as they are dealing with a conflict where the protagonists don’t even know what they want,” said Peter Kinsella, UBP’s Head of Investment Services UK.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.51 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.28 per cent, Germany’s DAX fell 1.13 per cent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.49 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.73 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.54 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose as doubts over a fragile two-week Middle East ceasefire raised concerns that energy flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted.
Brent crude futures were up 3.9 per cent at US$98.44 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 5.6 per cent to US$99.77 a barrel.
“The chances of a meaningful [strait] reopening any time soon look dim,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, predicting continued volatility in oil prices.
“The futures market looks a bit broken,” she said. Otherwise, “prices should have snapped right back to pre-ceasefire levels by now.”
In other commodities, spot gold climbed 0.6 per cent to US$4,743.50 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell 0.2 per cent to US$4,767.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.14 US cents to 72.30 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.39 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.17 per cent to 98.97. The U.S. dollar traded at $1.3836.
The euro rose 0.22 per cent to US$1.1688. The British pound climbed 0.16 per cent to US$1.3416.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was little changed at 4.300 per cent.
Economic news
Japan’s machine tool orders and consumer confidence
Germany’s industrial production and trade surplus
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. personal spending and income for February. The Street expects month-over-month increases of 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. initial jobless claims for week of April 4, which rose 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000. Estimates were 208,000, up 6,000 from the previous week.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. core PCE price index for February, which rose 3 per cent on an annual basis, in line with forecasts of a 2.9 per cent year-over-year increase.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. real GDP and GDP price index for Q4. The American economy, slowed by last fall’s 43-day government shutdown, grew at a sluggish 0.5 per cent annual pace from October through December, the Commerce Department reported in downgrade of its previous estimate.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. wholesale inventories for February.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press