Futures for Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday, pressured by a slip in crude prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index held onto gains of 9.62 points to end Wednesday at 15,712.31
The Canadian dollar slid 0.22 cents at 75.44 cents U.S. early Thursday
March futures slouched 0.3% Thursday.
Nutrien forecast 2019 profit below analysts' estimates, citing continued pressure on crop prices from record 2018 yields and the impact of the U.S.-China trade dispute.
A part of TransCanada Corp's Keystone oil pipeline was shut on Wednesday after a possible leak in the St. Louis, Missouri, area
Jefferies raised the price target on First Quantum Minerals to $19.00
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on Jamieson Wellness to $23.00 from $26.00
CIBC raised the price target on Suncor Energy to $53.00 from $52.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 0.12 points to 620.51
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as a cut in the euro-zone growth forecast reignited fears that the global economy may be slowing down.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average sagged 155 points, or 0.6%, at 25,172.
Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 18 points, or 0.7%, to 2,711.50
NASDAQ futures dropped 45.75 points, or 0.7%, to 6,950
Thursday's decline comes as the corporate earnings season continues. Twitter reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations on Thursday. However, shares of the social media company fell more than 7% as Twitter also issued light guidance. Fiat Chrysler and Cardinal Health are also among the companies that reported better-than-expected earnings.
Companies are reporting solid earnings growth for the fourth quarter with profits showing an increase of 14.1% on a year-over-year basis.
However, the outlooks accompanying those earnings reports are not as rosy. Because of those poor forecasts, earnings for the first quarter of 2019 are expected to drop more than 1%. That's the first year-over-year decline in earnings in more than two years.
The European Commission slashed its growth outlook for the euro-zone this year as it expects the bloc's largest economies to be held back by global trade tensions, among other issues. The Commission said euro-zone growth will slow to 1.3% this year from 1.9% in 2018, before rebounding in 2020 to 1.6%.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slumped 0.6% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year.
Oil prices fell 64 cents to $53.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices backpedaled $1.40 to $1,313 U.S. an ounce.
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