Markets rally amid optimism on end to Iran war
BNN Bloomberg
Stock markets in Canada and the U.S. rallied after President Donald Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about a possible end to the war.
“I do think there’s optimism that de-escalation in terms of the threat to do long-term damage to energy infrastructure, the fact that that threat’s off the table for a bit of time and there’s a chance of de-escalation is clearly giving markets an optimistic tone,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 566.40 points at 31,883.81.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 631.00 points at 46,208.47. The S&P 500 index was up 74.52 points at 6,581.00, while the Nasdaq composite was up 299.15 points at 21,946.76.
Over the weekend, Trump had threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t open up the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The narrow waterway off Iran’s coast has become a sore point for Trump because a sharp slowdown in traffic is preventing oil tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf to supply customers around the world.
Trump said Monday that he is postponing attacks on Iranian power plants for five days to allow talks to continue. Quickly afterward, though, came denials from Iran about talks, while Iran’s semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies portrayed the American president as backing down.
Another climb for oil prices sent the U.S. stock market sharply lower, as hopes collapsed for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Global oil prices will continue to rise as the war in the Middle East continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains inaccessible, according to an energy expert.
Global oil prices will continue to rise as the war in the Middle East continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains inaccessible, according to an energy expert.
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Markets in Canada and the U.S. continued to trade lower while oil went up late morning on Friday as inflationary fears prevailed among investors.
Gold prices fell by 1.8 per cent on Friday as the dollar strengthened on a report that the United States will deploy extra troops in the Middle East, fanning concerns of higher oil prices, inflation, and with it, elevated interest rates.
Canada’s federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid to farmers, agricultural businesses and food companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday.
Statistics Canada says retail sales were up 1.1 per cent at $70.7 billion in January, led by sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
As Qatar reels from an Iranian attack that has hobbled its giant natural gas company, its boss, who doubles as the country’s energy minister, says he had warned officials and executives of just such a danger should Iran’s own sites be hit.
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