Canada's main stock index was poised to open higher on Thursday, as demand for safe-haven assets amid trade tensions pushed gold prices to near their highest level this year.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 46.42 points to close Wednesday at 16,212.66
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.1 cents to 74.61 cents U.S. early Thursday
June futures vaulted 0.5% Thursday.
First Quantum Minerals said on Wednesday it had "fully complied" with local rules in operating Cobre Panama, one of the region's largest copper mines, after Panama's president-elect said he would review the company's contract.
Canaccord Genuity resumed coverage on Kirkland Lake Gold with a "buy" rating and a price target at $60.00
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised the price target on Dollarama to $44.00 from $37.00
Citigroup cut the price target on Precision Drilling to $3.50 from $4.50
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada says our exports rose 1.3% in April, while imports decreased 1.4%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $2.3 billion in March to $966 million in April
Meantime, Western University’s IVEY School of Business is out this morning (10 a.m.) with its purchasing managers’ index for May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange bolted 6.28 points, or 1.1%, Tuesday to 601.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday as Wall Street’s rally on hopes of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve looked set to continue.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average took on 61 points, or 0.2%, to 25,619.
Futures for the S&P 500 notched ahead 6.5 points, or 0.2%, at 2,834.25.
NASDAQ futures advanced 19.5 points, or 0.3%, to 7,248
Advanced Micro Devices contributed to the early gains, climbing more than 2% in the pre-market after Morgan Stanley upgraded the chipmaker to equal weight from underweight. The analyst also hiked his price target on AMD to $28 per share from $17.
On the data front, weekly jobless claims, revised first-quarter productivity and unit labor cost figures are expected this morning, along with April’s international trade figures.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 ditched two points Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.3%.
Oil prices gained 41 cents to $52.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $8.40 to $1,342.00 U.S. an ounce.
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