March 11 (Reuters) - Futures tied to Canada's main stock index dipped on Wednesday as investors monitored the latest developments in the Iran war, while awaiting key U.S. inflation data due later in the day.
March futures on the S&P/TSX composite index slipped 0.21%, as of 6:35 a.m. ET, while futures for Wall Street's main indexes also fell.
Fears of a prolonged conflict persisted after the U.S. and Israel exchanged air strikes with Iran across the Middle East, as vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked.
Toronto's benchmark index closed flat on Tuesday, down more than 3% from levels seen before the Iran conflict began.
A U.S. consumer prices reading is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show that consumer prices likely picked up in February, before tensions in the Middle East escalated.
Oil prices rose on the day after sliding in the last session, as traders awaited the International Energy Agency's (IEA) decision on plans to release crude reserves that could offset potential supply shocks. Two sources told Reuters that the oil release could total 400 million barrels.
Amid the recent swings in oil prices, Canadian energy stocks have emerged the strongest performers so far this year, while information technology has remained a laggard.
Focus would be on shares of Canadian lender goeasy, which sank more than 56% on Tuesday after projecting an incremental charge-off of C$178 million ($131.16 million)against its C$5.5 billion-loan book in the fourth quarter. At least two brokerages downgraded their rating on the stock, while several cut their price targets.
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($1 = 1.3571 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
