Bay Street Headed For Weak Open

(RTTNews) - Lower Canadian and U.S. futures and weak precious metals prices point to a negative start for the Canadian market on Monday. Additionally, sharply higher oil prices have triggered inflation concerns.

Oil prices have moved up sharply following U.S. President Donald Trump rejecting Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and signaling possible new military strikes after midterm elections.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed hopes for a diplomatic solution, but warned the country is prepared for war with the United States to resume.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures climbed to $96.54 a barrel before easing to $95.10, still up nearly 3% from previous close.

Gold futures are down $134.50 or about 3.1% at $4,186.70 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $2.901 or 4.48% at $61.900 an ounce.

Canadian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday after showing a lack of direction early in the session. The strength that emerged on Bay Street came amid a significant pullback by the price of crude oil, which had surged over the two previous sessions.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up by 94.43 points or 0.3% at 35,800.89.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as Middle East tensions persisted, hawkish signals from Federal Reserve policymakers bolstered the case for another Fed rate hike this year, and new data showed China's industrial profit growth slowed further in August.

Oil prices and bond yields extended their climb as U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and signaled possible new military strikes after midterm elections.

European stocks are mostly subdued today amid renewed worries about inflation and interest rates as oil prices rose sharply due to concerns about energy supply following an impasse in U.S.-Iran talks.