Equities<\/p>\n
Global markets were higher \u200cas investors assessed the economic damage from a prolonged Middle East \u2060conflict while central bank interest rate decisions loom.<\/p>\n
Wall Street futures were in positive territory after major North American markets closed higher yesterday. <\/p>\n
TSX futures rose as commodity prices climbed.<\/p>\n
In Canada, investors are getting results from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc. <\/p>\n
The Federal Open Market Committee \u201cis likely to defer action until it becomes clear whether the output or price effects are dominant,\u201d said Steve Englander, global head of G10 FX research at \u2060Standard Chartered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be surprised if the FOMC \u200bindicated a strong direction on the impact of the war, as it has no way of knowing how long the war will \u2060last or whether the biggest response will be on activity or inflation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.67 per cent. Britain\u2019s FTSE 100 gained 0.92 per cent, Germany\u2019s DAX climbed 0.53 per cent and France\u2019s CAC 40 advanced 0.83 per cent.<\/p>\n
In Asia, Japan\u2019s Nikkei closed 0.09 per cent lower, while Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng climbed 0.13 per cent. <\/p>\n
Commodities<\/p>\n
Oil prices \u200bwere on the rise, clawing back some of yesterday\u2019s \u200blosses<\/a> on renewed supply fears, with the \u200cStrait of Hormuz largely shut and U.S. allies rejecting calls<\/a> to deploy warships to escort tankers through the key chokepoint.<\/p>\n Brent futures gained 3 per cent to US$103.20 a barrel, while \u200bWest Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 3.13 per cent to US$96.43.<\/p>\n \u201cThe risks remain stark: It only takes one Iranian militia to fire a missile or plant a mine on a passing \u200ctanker to \u200breignite the entire situation,\u201d IG \u200cmarket analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.<\/p>\n In other commodities, spot gold was \u200blittle changed at US$5,001.36 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.1 per cent to US$5,005.20.<\/p>\n Currencies and bonds<\/p>\n The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart.<\/p>\n The day range on the loonie was 72.93 US cents to 73.11 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.44 per cent against the greenback over the past month. <\/p>\n The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, declined 0.08 per cent to 99.63. <\/p>\n The euro advanced 0.23 per cent to US$1.1534. The British pound gained 0.22 per cent to US$1.3350. <\/p>\n In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last down at 4.207 per cent.<\/p>\n Economic news<\/p>\n