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Markets Surge as Iran De‑Escalation Hopes Lift Wall Street to End Q1

  U.S. stock futures climbed on Wednesday, extending a powerful rally that closed out the first quarter, as investors reacted to fresh signals of potential de‑escalation in the Iran conflict. Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose between 0.4% and 0.7% , Nasdaq 100 contracts gained up to 0.7% , and Dow futures advanced around 0.4% to 0.7% , reflecting renewed optimism across markets.  The upswing followed remarks from both U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, each indicating openness to reducing hostilities. Pezeshkian stated that Iran has “the necessary will to end this war,” while Trump suggested the conflict may not last “much longer,” even with the Strait of Hormuz still constrained.  Tuesday’s session had already delivered the strongest single‑day gains in over a month for all three major indexes, fueled by easing oil prices and improving sentiment. Brent crude fell more than 2.9% to around $104 per barrel, while West Texas Intermedia...

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Canadian Housing Starts Plunge 22% in November as Higher Rates Bite



Canadian housing starts fell by 22% in November from the previous month, missing estimates by a wide margin, as higher borrowing costs hurt groundbreaking on multiple unit and single-family detached urban homes, data from the national housing agency showed on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 212,624 units from a downwardly revised 272,264 units in October, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said. Economists polled by Reuters expected starts to decrease to 257,100 in November.

As the more difficult borrowing conditions and labour shortages now seem to be showing in the starts numbers, we can expect to see continued slower starts rates in the coming months, according to CMHC’s deputy chief economist Kevin Hughes.


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