|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Global markets rallied as investor sentiment was lifted after U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in Middle East could come to a quick end. |
|
|
|
|
But hopes of a speedy resolution to the conflict were tempered by defiant statements from Iran’s military indicating it would continue fighting. |
|
|
|
|
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets closed up yesterday on Trump’s comments. |
|
|
|
|
TSX futures followed sentiment higher. |
|
|
|
|
In Canada, investors are getting results from Transcontinental Inc. and Altius Minerals Corp. |
|
|
|
|
On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Oracle Corp. and Franco-Nevada Corp. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“The toning down of President Trump’s rhetoric, from demanding full surrender to declaring the mission ‘very complete’, is a welcome development that should help settle nerves for today’s session in Asia, at least,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney. |
|
|
|
|
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.94 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.58 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 2.22 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.75 per cent. |
|
|
|
|
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.88 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 2.17 per cent. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oil prices fell after hitting a more than three-year high yesterday as U.S. President Donald Trump predicted the war in the Middle East could end soon, easing concerns about prolonged disruptions to global oil supplies. |
|
|
|
|
Brent futures dropped 7.1 per cent to US$91.93 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 7.2 per cent to US$87.96 a barrel. Both contracts fell as much as 11 per cent earlier in the session before paring some losses. |
|
|
|
|
“Clearly Trump’s comments about a short-lived war have calmed markets. While there was an overreaction to the upside yesterday, we think there is an overreaction to the downside today,” said Suvro Sarkar, energy sector team lead at DBS Bank, adding that the market was underappreciating risks at these levels for Brent. |
|
|
|
|
In other commodities, spot gold rose 1 per cent to US$5,189.24 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 1.9 per cent to US$5,199.70. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart. |
|
|
|
|
The day range on the loonie was 73.51 US cents to 73.72 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.22 per cent against the greenback over the past month. |
|
|
|
|
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.53 per cent to 98.65. |
|
|
|
|
The euro climbed 0.07 per cent to US$1.1646. The British pound rose 0.11 per cent to US$1.3450. |
|
|
|
|
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.125 per cent. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Japan’s GDP and machine tool orders |
|
|
|
|
Germany’s trade surplus and CPI |
|
|
|
|
6 a.m. ET: U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for February. |
|
|
|
|
8:15 a.m. ET: U.S. ADP Employment for February. |
|
|
|
|
10 a.m. ET: U.S. existing home sales. The Street expects an annualized rate decline of 1.2 per cent. |
|
|
|
|
With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
|
|
