Futures Fall as Trade War Concerns Persist
Futures tied to Canada's main stock index fell on Monday as concerns of a global trade war persisted, while investors also eyed the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision later in the week.
The TSX Composite Index gained 174.72 points to end Friday at 24,758.76. The index lost nearly 635 points last week, or 2.5%.
Futures were down 1% Monday.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.18 cents to 69.39 cents U.S. early Monday.
Meanwhile, former central banker Mark Carney won the race to become leader of the Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister, official results showed on Sunday.
Carney, a political novice, argued that he was best placed to revive the party and to oversee trade negotiations with Trump, who had threatened additional tariffs on Friday.
Investor focus is also on the Bank of Canada meeting this week, where the central bank is likely to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
In corporate news, Japan's Seven & i Holdings said that talks have begun with Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) over a store sale plan that would set the stage for ACT's $47 billion takeover bid.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was better by 9.06 points Friday, or 1.5%, to 614.30, for a loss of less than a point on the week.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures dropped on Monday as the selling pressures that dragged Wall Street last week persisted, while investors braced for a slew of economic data reports this week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials moved downward 513 points, or 1.2%, to 42,325.
Futures for the S&P 500 index were off 85 points, or 1.5%, to 5,691
Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ tumbled 358 points, or 1.8%, to 19.871.75.
The struggles came as the market was whipsawed by developments out of Washington, D.C., with negotiations on tariffs between the U.S., Mexico and Canada playing out throughout the week. In an interview that aired Sunday, President Donald Trump responded to a question on Fox News about the possibility of a recession by saying the economy was going through “a period of transition.”
On the inflation front, the February consumer price index release is slated for Wednesday, followed by the producer price index on Thursday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 eked up 0.4%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.9%.
Oil prices grabbed to $67.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid one dollar to $2,913.10 U.S. an ounce.
