Futures tied to Canada’s main stock index dipped on Thursday as investors assessed the implications of an intensifying trade war with the United States.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index (SXFcv1) were down 0.1% at 7:00 a.m. ET (1100 GMT).
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose additional tariffs on European Union goods, as major U.S. trading partners vowed to retaliate against the trade barriers already erected by the U.S. president.
Canada, the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imported goods worth C$29.8 billion ($20 billion) effective on Thursday, in response to Trump’s tariffs on these metals.
Trump’s wavering trade policies have triggered a global trade war, rattling investors, consumers and business confidence, while increasing recession risks for the U.S. as well as for Canada.
Even the Bank of Canada, after delivering a 25 basis points interest rate cut on Wednesday, raised concerns about inflationary pressures and weaker growth stemming from tariff uncertainties.
In commodities, gold prices were trading near record-high levels due to demand for safe-haven assets amid tariff concerns and a U.S. inflation report that reinforced expectations of a future rate cut.
Oil prices eased after surging in the previous session on a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. gasoline stocks.
Back home, in corporate news, Alimentation Couche-Tard 
ATD could bolster its $47 billion offer for Seven & I 
3382 if the Japanese firm became more cooperative and shared its financial information in greater detail, the founder of the Canadian retailer said.
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