Global markets slid as contradictory signals from the U.S.-Israeli war ​on Iran kept investors anxious over the risks to inflation ‌and global growth.

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of a key U.S. inflation report for February – before escalating tensions in the Middle East boosted energy prices.

TSX futures pointed lower after Canada’s major stock market closed marginally higher yesterday.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Descartes Systems Group Inc. and Bird Construction Inc.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Campbell’s Co.

“If the war ends and the worst – in terms of an energy price spike – is behind us, investors could return to a more constructive mode," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note. “But uncertainties loom, and there is a chance that the Iran war will not be done and dusted quickly.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.98 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.75 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 1.54 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.96 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.43 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.24 per cent.

Oil prices rebounded as markets doubted whether the International Energy Agency’s reported plan for a record release of oil reserves could offset potential supply shocks from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Brent futures rose 3.85 per cent at US$91.18 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at US$87.37 a barrel, 4.7 per cent higher.

The IEA’s proposed drawdown would exceed the 182 million barrels of oil that member countries put onto the market in two releases ​in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.

In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs analysts said that a stockpile release of that size would offset 12 days of the investment bank’s estimated 15.4 million barrel-per-day Gulf exports disruption.

In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at US$5,186.02 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery fell 0.9 per cent to US$5,194.10.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 73.59 US cents to 73.78 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 0.03 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, climbed 0.18 per cent to 99.00.

The euro eased 0.05 per cent to US$1.1606. The British pound climbed 0.09 per cent to US$1.3429.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.171 per cent.

8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. CPI for February. The Street is projecting a rise of 0.2 per cent month-over-month and 2.3 per cent year-over-year

With Reuters and The Canadian Press