Futures for Canada's main stock index edged lower on Monday due to concerns that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire could unravel after the U.S. seized an Iranian ship and Tehran vowed retaliation.
The TSX Composite Index zoomed 294.06 points to conclude Friday at 34,345.29. On the week, the index ballooned 1,238 points, or 3.7%.
June futures sank 0.3 Monday.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.12 cents U.S.
Canada's close ties to the U.S. were once a strength but have become a weakness, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday, in a video message.
Carney said Canada can't control the disruption coming from its U.S. neighbor, and can't bet its future on the hope that it will suddenly stop.
Meantime, the U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran also said it would not participate in a second round of negotiations that the U.S. had hoped to kick off before the ceasefire expires on April 21.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported the consumer price index increased 2.4% year over year in March, up from an increase of 1.8% in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.5% in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 11.32 points, or 1.1%, to conclude Friday at 1,054.91. On the week, the index jumped 62.19 points, or 6.27%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures fell on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend with the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dumped 238 points, or 0.5%, to 49,403.
Futures for the S&P 500 slid 31.75 points, or 0.4%, to 7,129.75
Futures for the NASDAQ dropped 107 points, or 0.4%, to 26,718.50.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. had fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. This comes after Iran declined to join another round of peace talks in Pakistan planned by the U.S.
The Iranian ship “is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board,” Trump said in Truth Social post.
Trump also threatened to blow up all power plants and bridges in Iran if the country didn’t agree to a deal with the U.S. A ceasefire between the two countries will expire this week.
Shares in TopBuild, the installer and distributor of insulation materials, jumped more than 17% after QXO announced it would acquire the company for $17 billion.
In a release, QXO said the acquisition will create a higher-margin business and it will be immediately accretive to the company’s earnings.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 acquired 0.6% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 0.8%
Oil prices zoomed $4.76 to $88.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices waned $60.10 to $4,819.50 U.S an ounce.
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