Global markets took a breather with sentiment nudging higher after whipsaw trading activity on U.S. President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth tariff plans and as levies on steel and aluminum imports kicked in.

The European Union retaliated immediately to Trump’s 25-per-cent global tariffs on steel and aluminum by announcing countertariffs on US$28-billion of U.S. goods that would start in April

Wall Street futures were in positive territory after North American markets closed down yesterday and ahead of inflation data later this morning.

TSX futures followed sentiment higher as investors waited for the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate decision. As The Globe’s Mark Rendell reports, with Trump shaking the foundations of the integrated North American economy, the central bank is widely expected to cut rates for a seventh consecutive time.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Adobe Systems Inc. and Lennar Corp.

“Market volatility is rising as visibility becomes cloudier by the day, [and] any market rebound may not be viable unless there is a form of stability in the White House – but that doesn’t seem to be on the menu du jour,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, wrote in a note.

“The higher volatility will likely convince more investors to step out of their bullish positions. Given the high long positioning in the US assets, we could see the selloff extend.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.81 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.51 per cent and France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.13 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.07 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.76 per cent.

Oil prices edged higher, buoyed by a weaker U.S. dollar, but mounting fears of a U.S. economic slowdown and the impact of tariffs on global economic growth capped gains.

Brent futures rose 0.53 per cent to $69.93 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.53 per cent to US$66.62 a barrel.

“Easing dollar counters the bearish bias of global economic slowdown, although this seems short-lived,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

In other commodities, spot gold rose 0.15 per cent to US$2,9019.70 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.17 per cent to US$2,925.90.

The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 69.03 US cents to 69.34 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.85 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, dropped 0.28 per cent to 103.55, after falling to fresh 2025 lows yesterday.

The euro was flat at US$1.0919. The British pound gave back 0.07 per cent to US$1.294.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was little changed at 4.286 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. CPI for February. The Street is forecasting a rise of 0.3 per cent from January and up 3.0 per cent year-over-year.

(9:45 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada policy announcement with press conference to follow.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. budget balance for February.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press