Futures tracking Canada's resource-heavy stock index inched up on Monday, as investors assessed the impact of potential inflation pressures from rising crude prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, while prices of precious metals eased.
The TSX plunged 298.67 points to close Friday at 32,541.93, for a loss on the week of 542 points, or 1.6%.
March futures picked 0.3% Monday.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.19 cents to 73.11 U.S.
The spotlight will be on the materials sector, which includes stocks of Canadian miners, as silver tumbled 4%, copper fell more than 1% and
gold also edged down.
Brokerage Jefferies raised its price targets across several Canadian energy companies, including Cenovus, Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources, reflecting improved cash-flow expectations and firmer commodity assumptions.
Macroeconomic news is plentiful Monday, with housing starts increasing by 0.4% in February with 256,005 units from January's 238,000.
In January, 114,415 new motor vehicles were sold in Canada, a decrease of 5.6% from January 2025. In dollar terms, sales decreased 6.1% in January 2026 compared with one year earlier. Over the same period, sales of new passenger cars fell by 18.2%, while sales of new trucks saw a smaller decline of 3.9%.
The consumer price index registered at rose 1.8% year over year in February, down from an increase of 2.3% in January. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 28.94 points, or 2.8%, to 1,018.11. Last week, the index let go of 39 points, or 3.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose on Monday as Wall Street tried to recover from another losing week, with investors monitoring oil prices and the latest developments from the U.S.-Iran war.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 353 points, or 0.8%, to 47,239.
Futures for the S&P 500 index gained 62.5 points, or 0.9%, to 6,748,25.
Futures for the NASDAQ popped 275.5 points, or 1.1%. to 24,881.25.
The moves come after the S&P 500 notched its third losing week in a row and closed at its lowest level of the year on Friday. The benchmark index ended the week down 1.6%, while the Dow and Nasdaq shed about 2% and 1.3%, respectively.
Oil prices rallied last week, with Brent crude settling above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
Crude soared as traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route, has been effectively halted since the war began.
In early Monday trading, WTI crude traded close to 2% lower at around $96 a barrel. It traded above $100 per barrel overnight. Brent crude traded around the flatline at $103 a barrel.
President Donald Trump ordered on Friday strikes on Iran military assets located on Kharg Island.
While the attack didn’t impact oil infrastructure, Trump said the U.S. would consider hitting those structures if Iran continues to block the Strait.
Trump also told NBC over the weekend that Iran wants to make a deal, but he is not ready yet.
Along with oil and the war, investors will keep an eye on Nvidia, as the chipmaker’s GTC conference begins Monday. The Federal Reserve is also set to hold its second monetary policy meeting of the year, though no change to interest rates is expected.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shot ahead 1.5%.
Oil prices dropped $1.88 to $96.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices descended $39.80 to $5,021.90 U.S an ounce.
