Positive Start Likely On Bay Street

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open with a positive bias on Tuesday amid hopes a fresh round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran later this week will help bring an end to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

A sharp drop in oil prices slightly helped ease concerns about growth and rendered the mood in Asian and European markets a bit positive.

Without further elaborating details, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has been called by the other side and he is still willing to engage with Tehran.

Despite concerns of a protracted war in the gulf, Canadian stocks moved higher on Monday thanks to strong buying in technology, financials and communications sectors.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the session with a gain of 183.48 points or 0.54% at 33,879.24.

Asian stocks climbed higher on Tuesday on renewed hopes of U.S.-Iran talks, with reports suggesting that there could be a second round of negotiations to end the West Asia conflict.

European stocks are broadly higher on Tuesday amid some hopes the U.S. and Iran may agree on a peace deal in a fresh round of negotiations.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $2.43 or 2.45% at $96.65 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $31.00 or 0.65% at $4,798.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $2.195 or 2.9% at $77.860 an ounce.