​Global stocks edged higher ​but remained on track for a weekly decline as investors assessed lingering stress in global bond markets, while a diplomatic deadlock in the Gulf weighed on oil prices and stoked inflation concerns.

Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets closed down yesterday

TSX futures followed sentiment higher as the clock ticked down on trade talks with the U.S.

“The initial [Treasury buy back] move was quite remarkable because it came totally as a surprise, but the big question is is ​this meaningful enough to have a long-lasting impact?,” said Christian Hantel, head of global corporate bonds at Vontobel.

“We ‌could see the market still trying to test if they’re ready to increase from the US$4-billion they have announced before. So, it could be an interesting couple of days.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.14 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was little changed, Germany’s DAX rose 0.27 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.06 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.3 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.21 per cent.

 Oil prices edged higher and were ​on track for a second straight ‌weekly gain after the United States threatened to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” with no end in sight for disruptions to Middle East oil ⁠flows.

Brent ​crude futures rose 0.32 per cent to US$94.08 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced 0.54 per cent to US$87.30.

“The U.S. is taking a very firm stance against Iran, with the blockade back in place and threats of tougher sanctions on Iranian ‌oil exports, ​and that’s why we ‌are seeing oil prices back above $90 a barrel,” said ANZ ​analyst Soni Kumari.

In other commodities, spot gold climbed 1.6 per cent to US$4,591.01 an ounce, ⁠hitting its ​highest since May 15 earlier in the session. Prices have climbed 4.2 per cent so far this week. U.S. gold futures rose 1.7 per cent to US$4,648.00.

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

The day range on the loonie was 72.50 US cents to 72.78 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was up about 2.56 per cent against the greenback over the past month. It traded at $1.3745 per US$1.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.25 per cent to 98.65.

The euro rose 0.23 per cent to US$1.1707. The British pound gained 0.23 per cent to US$1.3661.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.701 per cent.

Japan’s CPI and manufacturing and services PMI

Euro zone’s manufacturing and services PMI and consumer confidence

8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian retail sales for June. Consensus is a month-over-month gain of 0.4 per cent.

9:45 a.m. ET: U.S. S&P Global PMIs for August.

10:30 a.m. ET: Bank of Canada’s Senior Loan Officer Survey for Q2.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press