Equities
Global markets were mixed as investors assessed the durability of an interim ceasefire in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt recent hostilities and renew talks.
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after U.S. markets closed lower on Friday.
TSX futures followed sentiment higher.
“The market can take some relief in the lower oil prices and its impact on the global economy,” said Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies.
“Lower oil prices should lead to a diversification trade and growth-sensitive sectors which have suffered in the last few months should outperform.”
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.05 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.02 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.08 per cent and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.14 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.15 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.57 per cent.
Commodities
Oil prices rose after attacks by the U.S. and Iran underscored the fragility of their interim peace deal while expectations of a continued recovery in energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz limited gains.
Brent crude futures were up 0.8 per cent to $72.60 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.2 per cent to US$70.04.
“There’s still plenty of risk facing the oil market. Even so, participants appear to be ... focusing on what a continued recovery in oil flows would mean for the global balance,” ING analysts said in a note on Monday.
In other commodities, spot gold was down 1.3 per cent at US$4,035.79 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery lost 1.1 per cent to trade at US$4,050.02.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 70.36 US cents to 70.55 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.56 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.1 per cent to 101.26. The dollar was pegged at $1.4206 .
The euro rose 0.19 per cent to US$1.1406. The British pound gained 0.26 per cent to US$1.3236.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.381 per cent.
Economic news
China industrial profits and Japan retail sales for May
Euro area economic confidence survey
With Reuters and The Canadian Press