Bay Street Seen Opening On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks look headed for a positive start Monday morning, reacting to U.S. President's announcement that he's postponing strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account that the U.S. and Iran had "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East." He added that talks would continue through the week.

Earlier, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning of strikes on power plants. Tehran retaliated by saying that it would attack Israel's power plants and plants supplying U.S. bases in the Gulf if Trump carries out his threat to "obliterate" Iran's power network.

Oil prices, which climbed up sharply earlier following the statements from U.S. and Tehran, tumbled after Trump's latest post. Brent crude futures, which climbed to about $114 a barrel earlier, dropped to $96 a barrel before recovering some lost ground.

Canadian stocks tumbled on Friday, extending the sharp losses posted in the two previous sessions, as inflationary concerns due to the intensifying gulf war continued to pressure investors away from risky assets.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 537.75 points or 1.69% at 31,317.23.

Asian stocks plummeted on Monday after Washington and Tehran threatened to escalate hostilities. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran's power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz reopens within 48 hours. Tehran retaliated by saying that it would attack Israel's power plants and plants supplying U.S. bases in the Gulf if Trump carries out his threat to "obliterate" Iran's power network.

After a severe setback earlier in the session, European stocks staged a dramatic turnaround following Trump's statement about "productive" discussions with Iran and the decision to postpone strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure.

Among the major European markets, Germany and France are up sharply, while the U.K. market failed to sustain at higher levels and turned a bit flat.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $6.06 or 6.16% at $92.17 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $171.70 or 3.7%% at $4,403.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $1.449 or 2.08% at $68.215 an ounce.