Monday, April 27, 2026, ahead of the North American open.

Asian Market Summary

Asia finished mixed, but with a constructive tilt overall. Japan’s Nikkei jumped about 1.4% to 60,537, South Korea’s Kospi rose about 2.0% to 6,615, Shanghai added about 0.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped about 0.1% and Australia’s ASX 200 dipped about 0.2%. The message from Asia was not broad risk-off; it looked more like selective risk-taking, especially in Japan and Korea, while oil and Middle East uncertainty kept a lid on conviction.

Premarket and Futures Summary

U.S. futures were mixed as of the pre-open window: S&P 500 futures were roughly flat, Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 0.2%, and Dow futures were down about 0.1%. That points to a cautious but not panicked open, with tech holding up better than the broader market as investors look ahead to a heavy week of big-tech earnings.

For Canada, I’m not seeing a clean TSX futures read from the accessible sources, so the better signal is the commodity backdrop. With oil higher and copper firm, the TSX has a more supportive setup than the U.S. if energy and materials lead.

Commodity Futures Summary

Crude is the biggest macro signal this morning. In the pre-open window, WTI was around $95.90, up about 1.6%, and Brent was near $101.0, up about 1.9%. Copper was also firmer, around $6.05, up about 0.4%. Gold was slightly softer near $4,731, down about 0.2%, and silver was weaker too.

That mix matters because higher oil can pressure broad U.S. equities through inflation and margin worries, while stronger oil and copper are usually a better relative backdrop for Canada’s resource-heavy market.

North America Outlook

U.S. outlook: Mixed to slightly bullish
Canada outlook: Mildly bullish
Confidence level: Medium

Reasons:

• Asia was mixed, but Japan and Korea were strong enough to keep global risk sentiment from turning negative.
• U.S. futures are not confirming a broad selloff; Nasdaq strength suggests investors still want tech exposure into earnings.
• Higher oil is a headwind for the broad U.S. market, but a relative tailwind for Canadian energy names.
• Firmer copper adds a second layer of support for Canadian materials.

Bottom Line

The most likely read-through for today’s open is a mixed U.S. start with tech resilience, while Canada looks a bit stronger on resource support. It does not look like a clean risk-on morning, but it also does not look like a broad risk-off washout.

Sources: AP on Asian markets and early Wall Street, Yahoo Finance premarket summary, Yahoo Finance commodities board, AP on Iran/Hormuz and oil backdrop.