Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre were set to open higher on Thursday after the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 in a bid to support economic growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite recovered 35.04 points to conclude Wednesday at 14,512.05. September futures advanced 0.2% Thursday morning.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.07 cents to 76.6 cents U.S. early Thursday
Canadian Natural Resources reported a smaller quarterly loss as lower expenses helped offset a slump in crude prices.
Insurer Manulife Financial Corp posted second-quarter results which were below market expectations and warned of a charge of up to $500 million in the third quarter.
Retailer Canadian Tire’s quarterly profit rose 8.1%, helped by higher sales of sports gear and apparel.
Desjardins raised the price target on Aecon Group to $21 from $20, with buy rating
Barclays raises price target on Husky Energy to $23.00 from $22.00 with overweight rating
Canaccord Genuity raised price target on IAMGOLD to $7.50 from $6.50, with hold rating
England’s central bank lowered its main lending rate to a record-low 0.25% from 0.5% and said it would buy 60 billion pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved backward 0.21 points to 805.18
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are holding steady and not making any major moves right now
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 40, or 0.2%, to 18,309, while futures for the S&P 500 picked up 3.25 points, or 0.2%, at 2,160.25. NASDAQ futures advanced 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,731.
A huge number of companies are reporting earnings ahead of the U.S. open this morning, including Viacom, Time Inc., Toyota, Nokia, Kellogg, MGM Resorts and Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International.
After the close, investors will hear from Kraft Heinz, Priceline, LinkedIn, Paramount Group and Lions Gate Entertainment
LinkedIn's results come shortly after Microsoft announced it is buying the company for $26 billion U.S. LinkedIn stock plummeted at the beginning of this year on weak earnings but surged to a record high on the Microsoft news.
TripAdvisor, Tesla: Shares in TripAdvisor look set to plunge at the open after posting lower-than-expected profits in its latest earnings report.
Shares in Tesla could also be on the move after the electric car company reported that its losses ballooned to $150 million U.S. in the quarter ending in June, which is more than twice what Wall Street had expected.
European markets are mostly positive in early trading, though the gains are small.
The Bank of England cut interest rates Thursday by a quarter-percentage-point in a bid to support the slowing economy.
The U.K. voted to leave the European Union in June, triggering a slump in the pound and a collapse in business and consumer confidence.
Markets across Asia were mostly up.
Oil prices dipped seven cents to $40.76 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $2.20 at $1,366.90 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
