IEA Cuts Oil Demand Forecast; Canadian Markets Eye Recovery

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks may open with a positive bias on Friday amid slightly easing worries about inflation after oil prices declined sharply following International Energy Agency's downward revision in global oil demand forecast.

Also, investors may look for some bargain hunting after six successive days of losses. U.S. consumer price inflation data could make an impact on sentiment.

The IEA now expects world oil demand to drop by 2.5 million barrels per day this year, compared to its previous forecast of a 1.6 million bpd decline. The agency expects oil supply to decline by 5.7 million bpd this year.

Bausch + Lomb will be in focus after announcing European CE Mark approval of SeeLyra, the company's next generation femtosecond laser. SeeLyra will be available in Europe on a limited basis in the coming months, with increasing availability expected in 2027. Bausch + Lomb is also in the process of seeking regulatory approvals for SeeLyra in markets around the world, including the United States.

The Canadian market ended weak on Thursday as stocks extended their losses to a sixth straight session, as investors assessed the impact of mutual tariff imposed by Canada and the U.S. on the economy. In addition, concerns about Middle East tensions increased after U.S. President Donald Trump remarked that the conflict could drag on until November.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which traded firmly negative throughout the session, settled at 35,506.28, down by 400.28 points or 1.11%.

Asian stocks fell sharply on Friday following a fourth straight session of losses on Wall Street. Inflation and interest rate worries weighed on markets after Brent crude prices jumped to their highest level since May on escalating Middle East tensions, and fears of a rate hike by the Fed rose after a measure of U.S. producer price inflation came in stronger than expected.

Major European markets are gaining some ground in positive territory as oil prices fell sharply after the International Energy Agency revised downward its global oil demand forecast for the year.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $2.74 or 2.67% at $99.74 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $36.80 or about 0.8% at $4,370.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.557 or 0.85% at $64.370 an ounce.