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Global markets traded cautiously after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of “hell” for Iran unless it reopens the Strait of Hormuz by his self-imposed deadline, but a report of a push for a ceasefire appeared to ease some nerves |
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Wall Street futures edged into positive territory after North American markets closed mixed last week ahead of the holiday Friday. |
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TSX futures followed sentiment higher. |
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“The markets are obviously nervous,” said Sim Moh Siong, currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore. “We’ve seen many of these deadlines being pushed out, and it’s difficult to tell to what extent this deadline is going to stick, or will it be pushed out too,” he added. |
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“There was a lot of de-escalation hope, but some of this hope has fizzed out over the weekend in the ramping up of threats to blow up Iranian power plants and bridges.” |
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Overseas, markets in Europe and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday. Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.55 per cent higher. |
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Oil prices eased in choppy trading as investors awaited clarity on the status of talks between the U.S. and Iran even as they remained wary about sustained supply losses due to shipping disruptions. |
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Brent crude futures dropped 0.47 per cent to US$108.50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading 0.7 per cent lower at US$110.70 a barrel. |
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In other commodities, spot gold slipped 0.4 per cent to US$4,658.90 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.1 per cent to US$4,684.30 in thin trade amid holiday closings across parts of Asia and Europe. |
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The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. |
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The day range on the loonie was 71.68 US cents to 71.87 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 1.08 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, slid 0.13 per cent to 99.90. The U.S. dollar traded against the loonie at $1.3923. |
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The euro gained 0.26 per cent to US$1.1551. The British pound rose 0.34 per cent to US$1.3247. |
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In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.354 per cent. |
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9:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for March. |
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10 a.m. ET: U.S. ISM Services PMI for March. |
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With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
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