Bay Street May Open On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks may open on a negative note Friday morning as weak precious metals prices and uncertainty about U.S. and Iran agreeing on a long-term truce are likely to weigh on sentiment.

In economic news, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term Index, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, climbed to 49.6 in June from 46.3 in May.

Data from Statistics Canada said retail sales in Canada surged by 1% from the previous month in May, according to a preliminary estimate. In April, retail turnover rose by 0.5% to C$73 billion, revised slightly lower from the initial estimate of 0.6%.

Retail sales in Canada increased 3.7% in April over the same month in the previous year.

Canadian stocks edged lower on Thursday amid by a decrease in crude oil prices due to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a plunge in gold prices due to the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates, both of which weighed on the energy and metal-linked materials sectors, respectively, and pulled down the market.

After opening higher than yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index lost momentum early in the session and traded firmly negative throughout the rest of the day before settling at 34,969.26, down by 155.85 points (or 0.44%).

Asian stocks ended mixed in thin trade on Friday, with markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan closed for holidays.

A cautious undertone prevailed after the Swiss Foreign Ministry said U.S. talks with Iranian negotiators on a pact to end the Middle East conflict have been postponed.

U.S. Vice president JD Vance has delayed his planned trip to Switzerland and Tehran also held back from the planned talks after at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon overnight.

The major European markets are showing weakness today with stocks turning in a subdued performance amid uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran truce following the cancellation of U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.80 pr 1.04% at $77.40 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $73.50 or 1.73% at $4,172.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $1.409 or 2.1% at $64.910 an ounce.