Stock futures pointed to a flat opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday, with oil prices dipping on a surprise rise in U.S. crude inventories.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 100.37 points to greet Tuesday’s closing bell at 15,702.69
The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.37 cents at 75.82 cents U.S. early Wednesday
March futures fell 0.04% Wednesday.
Aphria said on Wednesday it had rejected U.S. cannabis retailer Green Growth Brands' hostile takeover bid, saying the offer significantly undervalued the company.
Canadian pharmaceutical industry lobby groups, in an effort to head off a planned crackdown on prescription drug prices, offered to give up $8.6 billion in revenue over 10 years, freeze prices or reduce the cost of treating rare diseases
Suncor Energy reported a quarterly loss on Tuesday, compared with a profit a year ago, as lower prices for the country's crude offset gains from higher refinery margins.
National Bank of Canada upped the target price Intact Financial to $109.00 from $106.00
National Bank of Canada boosted the target price on Loblaw Companies to $67.00 from $62.00
RBC cut the rating on SmartCentres REIT to outperform from top pick.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that Canadian municipalities issued $8.8 billion worth of building permits in December, up 6.0% from November and the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
The gain was largely due to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings, with both components hitting record highs.
Coming up later this morning, Western University’s IVEY School of Business presents its Purchasing Managers Index for December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 4.63 points Tuesday to 620.63
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures traded lower in the pre-market Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average hesitated nine points at 25,315.
Futures for the S&P 500 settled 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,728.75
NASDAQ futures inched forward 2.25 points to 7,010.25
Investors will also focus on a slew of corporate earnings. General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Softbank, Toyota, Spotify, and New York Times Co. are set to report before the bell. Chipotle Mexican Grill, FireEye, NewMarket, and Sonos are among the companies expected to report after the bell.
Markets focused on Trump's address Tuesday as he vowed to build a wall that's the source of a deep partisan divide. Democrats did not yield to Trump's demand to fund the barrier, leading to a 35-day partial government shutdown during December and January.
On the data front, Wednesday will see U.S. trade deficit figures, productivity data and unit labour costs this morning.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 nosed up 0.1% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, markets were closed for the Lunar New Year.
Oil prices doffed nine cents to $53.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.80 to $1,317.40 U.S. an ounce.
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