Equities
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
Wall Street futures were mixed after a holiday-shortened trading week. TSX futures edged higher.
“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.
“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.”
Overseas, markets in Europe and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday. Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.55 per cent higher.
Commodities
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.
Brent crude futures slipped 0.5 per cent to US$108.50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading 1.11 per cent lower at US$110.30 a barrel.
In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.1 per cent to US$4,678.58 an ounce, with many markets across Europe closed for a holiday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery rose 0.6 per cent to US$4,706 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.
The day range on the loonie was 71.68 US cents to 71.90 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 2.33 per cent against the greenback over the past month.
The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, slid 0.15 per cent to 99.88. The U.S. dollar traded against the loonie at $1.3912.
The euro gained 0.28 per cent to US$1.1553. The British pound rose 0.33 per cent to US$1.3246.
In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.339 per cent.
Economic news
9:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s S&P Global Services PMI for March.
10 a.m. ET: U.S. ISM Services PMI for March.
With Reuters and The Canadian Press
