Equities
Global markets turned higher ahead of a crucial weekend that could pave the way for a near-term resolution to the Middle East war.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence that an agreement could soon be reached to end the conflict and urged the Tehran-aligned Hezbollah group to hold its fire as a 10-day truce went into effect between Lebanon and Israel.
Trump said the next meeting between U.S. and Iranian negotiators could take place at the weekend.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after slight gains on major U.S. markets yesterday.
TSX futures edged higher after Canada’s main stock market closed modestly down yesterday.
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Fifth Third Bancorp, State Street Corp. and Truist Financial Corp.
“I think equity markets are remaining positive and some solid U.S. earnings have helped, but - and it’s a big but - we need to see some concrete evidence that peace is going to last,” said Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global.
Wall Street’s week ahead: Surging record-high U.S. stocks to wade deeper into earnings season
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.29 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.91 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.69 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.75 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.89 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices plunged after Iran’s foreign minister said that the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remaining ceasefire period, in line with that in Lebanon.
Brent crude futures declined 10.6 per cent to US$87.87 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 12 per cent to US$83.13 a barrel.
“Oil prices are reacting very sensitively to escalation or de-escalation headlines,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 1.2 per cent to US$4,846.28 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June rose 1.2 per cent to US$4,863.80.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 72.93 US cents to 73.20 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.46 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.38 per cent to 97.83. The U.S. dollar traded at $1.3664.
The euro rose 0.41 per cent to US$1.1832. The British pound climbed 0.39 per cent to US$1.3576.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.237 per cent.
Economic news
Euro zone’s trade surplus
8:15 a.m. ET: Canadian housing starts for March, which posted a surprise decline, falling 6 per cent from the previous month.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s international securities transactions for February.
8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s household and mortgage credit for February.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press