(ADDS ASIA MARKET CLOSE)
Futures for Canada's main stock index dropped on Monday after Western countries imposed tough new sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, although stronger crude prices limited losses.
Futures were down 1.2% Monday morning.
TD Securities resumed coverage on Centerra Gold with a hold rating
Berenberg cut the rating on Galiano Gold to hold from buy.
CIBC cut the target price on Onex Corp to $100 from $110.00
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said its industrial product price index was up rose 3.0% month over month in January and was 16.9% higher than in January 2021, while its raw materials price index was up 6.5% on a monthly basis in January 2022 and up 30.5% year over year.
The Canadian dollar squeezed higher 0.18 cents to 78.58 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures moved low early Monday but were off their morning lows as Russian and Ukraine officials gathered to discuss a potential end to the hostilities between the two sides.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 411 points, or 1.2%, to 33,598.00
Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 585 points, or 1.3%, to $4,321.50
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index lost 179.25 points, or 1.3%, to 14,001.25.
In premarket trading in the U.S., defense stocks like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman rose while shares of major banks were under pressure.
The moves come amid turmoil over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have held key cities including the capital of Kyiv. At the same time, Ukraine officials have arrived near the border for talks with Russian officials.
In the most recent financial developments, the Central Bank of Russia more than doubled its key interest rate, to 20% from 9.5% in reaction to a currency move that saw the ruble tumble nearly 16% against the U.S. dollar.
Over the weekend, the U.S. joined allies in Europe and Canada in moving to bar key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT. The system connects more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories.
Russian military vehicles entered Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv with reports of fighting taking place and residents being warned to stay in shelters.
On Asia markets, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2% Monday while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong back-pedaled 0.2%.
The price of oil jumped $3.66 to $95.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $24.20 to $1,912.00 U.S. per ounce,
