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Global stocks rose and oil prices edged up, as uncertainty surrounded U.S.-Iran peace talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some good signs” in talks to end the war, but differences remain over Tehran’s uranium stockpile and control of the Strait of Hormuz. |
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Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American indexes ended higher on Thursday. TSX futures pointed lower. |
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In Canada, investors are getting results from Atex Resources Inc. |
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If traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not fully restored in the months ahead, recession across many global economies could become the “base-case scenario,” wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, in a note to clients. “That would certainly help cap oil prices by lowering demand, and it could also force central banks to rethink the strength of their policy response.” |
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“The thing is: none of these scenarios should normally support global equities, which today continue consolidating near all-time highs despite risks that are increasingly materialising.” |
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Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.49 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.39 per cent, Germany’s DAX gained 0.56 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.33 per cent. |
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In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 2.68 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished 0.86 per cent higher. |
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Oil prices climbed as investors doubted the prospect of a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran peace talks, but held on track for a weekly loss. |
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Brent crude futures rose 3.2 per cent to US$105.88 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 2.6-per-cent higher at US$98.88. |
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“The optimism of a relatively imminent truce and bearish rhetoric whenever Brent approaches $110 prevents oil prices from rallying significantly higher,” said PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga. |
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In other commodities, spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at US$4,524 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery shed 0.4 per cent to US$4,524.20. |
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The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart. |
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The day range on the loonie was 72.47 US cents to 72.62 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.89 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, was little changed at 99.255. The dollar was pegged at $1.3793. |
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The euro declined 0.10 per cent to US$1.1608. The British pound lost 0.01 per cent to US$1.343. |
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In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.555 per cent. |
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Restaurant Brands International plans to build 80 new Tim Hortons locations by the end of this year, and to renovate another 400 in that same period, Susan Krashinsky Robertson reports. That represents a total investment of $130-million by the company and another $270-million by its franchisees. |
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8:30 a.m. ET: Canadian retail sales for March. The Street expects a rise of 0.6 per cent. |
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8:30 a.m. ET: Canada’s industrial product and raw materials price indexes. Estimates are month-over-month increases of 1.5 per cent and 5.0 per cent, respectively. |
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10 a.m. ET: U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for May. |
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10 a.m. ET: U.S. leading indicator for April. Estimate is a decline of 0.3 per cent from March. |
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10:30 a.m. ET: Bank of Canada’s Senior Loan Officer Survey for Q1. |
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With Reuters and The Canadian Press |
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