Jan 20 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on eight European nations if his country was not allowed to buy Greenland rattled global markets.
March futures on Toronto's S&P/TSX Composite Index SXFcv1 were down 0.7% as of 5:42 a.m. ET, mirroring a decline in Wall Street futures, which fell more than 1.5%.
Trump has threatened to implement 10% tariffs from February 1 on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain until the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland. These duties could potentially rise to 25% from June 1, he added.
Additionally, Trump threatened to slap 200% tariffs on French wines and champagnes after reports that French President Emmanuel Macron will not join his Board of Peace initiative.
The intensifying rhetoric from the U.S. president has dragged down stocks around the world, weakened the dollar and sent U.S. Treasury yields to four-month highs.
Toronto's resources-heavy benchmark index .GSPTSE closed at a record high on Monday after unsettled investors rushed to safe-haven assets. Spot gold XAU= and silver XAG= both surged to fresh highs. GOL/
Meanwhile, oil prices steadied as investors balanced potential trade-war concerns against some support from better-than-expected fourth-quarter Chinese GDP data released on Monday. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.3%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 dipped 0.2%.
On the macro front, investors may take cues from certain U.S. bank results due on Tuesday, while Canada's Industrial Product Price Index is slated for release on Wednesday.
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(Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))
