March 10 (Reuters) – Canadian stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday, as a rally in gold cushioned the falling oil prices after President Trump suggested the Middle East war may soon wind down, keeping investors wary in the resource-heavy market.
March futures on S&P/TSX composite index gained 0.4%, as of 5:57 a.m. ET.
U.S. stock futures edged up Tuesday as hopes for a quicker Middle East conflict resolution eased energy-driven inflation fears.
Toronto’s benchmark index closed higher yesterday after briefly hitting its lowest intraday level since February 6.
Trump said on Monday the conflict with Iran could end soon, leading to crude prices falling below $100 after jumping as high as $119 a day earlier.
Oil remains volatile, with crude slumping as much as 11% in the day after over 20% gains on Monday, filtering through Canada’s commodity-heavy market.
G7 nations said on Monday that they’re ready to take “necessary measures” to curb surging oil prices but avoided committing to an emergency reserves release.
Spot gold was trading marginally up at $5,182.85 per ounce, as of 0954 GMT. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 1.9% to $5,199.70.
Traders will be watching U.S. inflation data and Canada’s jobs report due later this week for signals on the monetary policy outlook.
The timing comes as the Bank of Canada faces mounting geopolitical and supply‑side risks ahead of its March 18 policy decision.
Scotiabank downgraded Air Canada to “sector perform” from “sector outperform” and cut its target price to C$21 from C$27.
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(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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