(RTTNews) - The Canadian market may open with a slightly positive bias Monday morning amid reports the U.S. and Iran are engaged in indirect negotiations to explore a potential 45-day truce that could lead to a more permanent resolution to the conflict.
The diplomatic push came after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to attack Iran's bridges and power plants, warning he would bring "Hell" to Iran if they do not open the vital waterway by 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf retorted by saying, "Make no mistake: You won't gain anything through war crimes. The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game."
Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's office, wrote on X, "The Strait of Hormuz will reopen only when, under a new legal regime, the damages from the imposed war are fully compensated from a portion of the transit toll revenues."
S&P Global's report on Canada's Composite PMI and Services PMI readings for the month of March will be out at 9:30 AM ET.
The Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher on Thursday, as the market received support from strength in the energy sector due to gains in oil-linked stocks after oil prices rose sharply following U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to attack Iran "extremely hard."
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered after a weak start and ended with a gain of 150.27 points or 0.46% at 33,108.22.
Asian stocks closed higher on Monday, even as most regional markets remained closed for holidays. While Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong celebrate Easter, mainland China and Taiwan celebrate the Qingming Festival, the tomb-sweeping holiday.
Regional sentiment was underpinned after all three Wall Street indexes posted strong gains last week on hopes of Iran war de-escalation.
Most of the markets in Europe, including the U.K., Germany and France, are closed today for Easter.
In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.52 or 1.36% at $110.02 a barrel.
Gold futures are up $18.60 or 0.4% at $4,698.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.386 or 0.53% at $73.310 an ounce.
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