Equities
Global markets climbed as Israel sought talks with Lebanon, raising hopes for a break in Middle East hostilities and an opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Investors held to guarded optimism with delegations from Tehran and Washington set to hold talks in Pakistan tomorrow.
Wall Street futures were mixed as investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of a crucial inflation data.
TSX futures were in positive territory as oil prices rose.
In Canada, investors are getting results from MTY Food Group Inc.
“For markets at least, the financial stress has continued to ease before the weekend talks,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote. “So those hopes for a de-escalation in Lebanon helped ease concerns that the broader ceasefire could fall apart ahead of this weekend’s talks.”
Wall Street’s week ahead: U.S. earnings season set to test war-rattled stocks
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.78 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.37 per cent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.76 per cent and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.85 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.84 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.55 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices were on the rise, driven by fresh anxiety over supplies from Saudi Arabia and as tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz remained largely frozen.
Brent crude futures added 0.88 per cent to trade at US$96.76 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 1.04 per cent to US$98.89 a barrel.
In other commodities, spot gold slipped 0.4 per cent to US$4,745.43 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell 1.1 per cent to US$4,767.30.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.23 US cents to 72.41 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.86 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, edged up 0.03 per cent to 98.85. The U.S. currency traded at $1.3838.
The euro gained 0.1 per cent to US$1.1711. The British pound advanced 0.03 per cent to US$1.3439.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.296 per cent.
Economic news
China’s CPI and PPI
Japan’s bank lending
Germany’s CPI
8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian employment for March. The Street is projecting a rise of 0.1 per cent, or 15,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate gaining 0.1 per cent to 6.8 per cent and average hourly wages increasing 3.8 per cent year-over-year.
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. CPI for March. Consensus is a rise of 0.9 per cent from February and 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment for April.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. factory orders for February.
2 p.m. ET: U.S. budget balance for March.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press