Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip stocks edged higher on Thursday, mirroring gains on Wall Street after upbeat forecasts from Micron and Qualcomm, while investors kept an eye on developments in the Middle East.
The TSX Composite Index capsized 191.29 points to conclude Wednesday to 34,736.09.
September futures gained 0.3% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar inched lower 0.04 cents at 70.20 cents U.S.
On the geopolitical front, developments around the U.S.-Iran conflict remained in focus after the U.S. administration sought additional funding for the war.
Economically speaking, the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—edged up by 22,000 (+0.1%) in April, following little variation in March (+5,700; +0.0%). Year over year, payroll employment was up by 78,100 (+0.4%) in April.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's governing council agreed to keep its monetary policy nimble to respond to new U.S. trade restrictions, the impact of energy prices, or both playing out at the same time, according to the minutes of its meeting released on Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 24.71 points, or 2.7% Wednesday to 897.95.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures rose early Thursday, boosted by a blowout Micron Technology earnings report, as traders looked ahead to the release of a key inflation reading for May.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials rebounded 125 points, or 0.2%, to 52,404.
Futures for the S&P 500 index jumped 54.25 points, or 0.7%, to 7,482.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite popped 658.50 points. or 2.2%, to 30,172.75.
Micron surged 16% after the chipmaker reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations.
Fellow semiconductor stock Qualcomm gained 11.7% after raising guidance for its non-handset revenue in fiscal 2029, with other chip names, such as Sandisk, Western Digital, Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials all rose in sympathy.
Chip stocks in Europe also posted gains in Thursday’s trading session, with ASMI, Be Semiconductor and Soitec all rising sharply.
Investors will be watching for May’s personal consumption expenditures price index reading on Thursday morning, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the headline index to rise 0.5% on a monthly basis, slightly higher than April’s 0.4% gain, and 4.1% on a yearly basis, again larger than April’s rise of 3.8%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 vaulted 4.6% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.4%.
Oil prices gave way 94 cents to 69.40 cents U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $8.70 to $4.000.10 U.S an ounce.
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