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Global equities were mixed as markets took a breather after a global equities rout on concerns about a widened and prolonged conflict in the Middle East. |
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Wall Street futures pointed higher as investors awaited a fresh slate of economic data for cues on the interest rate outlook, while surging oil prices added to inflation pressures. |
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TSX futures advanced as commodity prices climbed. |
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In Canada, investors are getting results from Athabasca Oil Corp., Capital Power Corp., George Weston Ltd., Kinaxis Inc., Linamar Corp., and Vermilion Energy Inc. |
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On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Broadcom Inc. |
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Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he’d been surprised at markets’ “benign” reaction up to now to the building risks. |
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“I think it’s gonna take a couple of weeks for markets to really digest the implications of what has happened both in the short term and medium term, and I can’t speculate as to how that would play out,” he said in a speech in Sydney. |
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Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.54 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.66 per cent, Germany’s DAX rose 1.79 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.26 per cent. |
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In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 3.61 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.01 per cent. |
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Oil prices steadied as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies, but the pace of gains slowed from past sessions after President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy could escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. |
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Brent climbed 0.8 per cent to US$82.08 a barrel after closing yesterday at its highest since January, 2025. |
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West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was little changed at US$74.54 after settling at its highest since June. |
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“The primary near-term driver for oil prices remains the US-Iran conflict,” said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. |
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“At this stage, only clear signs of de-escalation could mitigate or reverse the current bullish trend for WTI, and such signals are currently lacking.” |
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In other commodities, spot gold gained 2.2 per cent to US$5,198.58 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery added 1.7 per cent to trade at US$5,211.20. |
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The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. |
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The day range on the loonie was 72.98 US cents to 73.27 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.02 per cent against the greenback over the past month. |
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The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.31 per cent to 98.74. |
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The euro gained 0.26 per cent to US$1.1644. The British pound rose 0.24 per cent to US$1.3371. |
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In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.080 per cent. |
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Japan and Euro zone’s services and composite PMI |
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8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP National Employment Report for February. |
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8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian labour productivity for Q4. Estimate is a decline of 0.2 per cent from Q3. |
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9:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for February. |
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9:45 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Global Services/Composite PMI for February. |
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10 a.m. ET: U.S. ISM Services PMI for February. |
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10:20 a.m. ET: Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks in Toronto. |
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2 p.m. ET: U.S. Beige Book is released. |
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With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
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