Sept 9 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip stocks inched lower on Wednesday as intensifying Middle East hostilities drove oil prices toward $100 a barrel, rekindling inflation fears and dampening risk appetite.
September futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.13% as of 05:53 a.m. ET.
Brent crude prices reached the $100 mark for the first time since July as the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes in the Gulf region.
Risks to global energy supplies have risen in recent weeks as the six-month old conflict escalated, putting inflation firmly back on investors' radar ahead of Friday's U.S. inflation data.
Spot gold rose 0.9% after three straight sessions of losses, supported by a softer dollar. Silver also gained 0.9%. /GOL
Meanwhile, the U.S. on Tuesday expanded trade restrictions on Canada, banning imports of numerous alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy products.
The levies followed 50% tariffs that the U.S. had imposed on some $20 billion of Canadian goods last month after several rounds of talks broke down.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE), fell more than 1% in the previous session, dragged down by heavy-weight financials.
U.S.-listed shares of Lithium Americas (LAC.TO), rose 4% in premarket trading after J.P.Morgan assumed coverage with "overweight" rating.
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Reporting by Darshan Kumar and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar
