Futures rose on Canadian stock markets Wednesday, as upbeat comments from U.S. President Donald Trump lifted hopes that the United States and China were close to a trade deal.
The TSX Composite Index squeezed higher 3.02 points to finish Tuesday at 17,035.88
The Canadian dollar was up 0.04 at 75.35 cents U.S. early Wednesday
December futures improved 0.2% Wednesday.
The Bank of Canada is reportedly now expected to hold rates through to the end of next year, according to a slim majority of economists, with forecasts on whether or not the central bank holds or cuts sitting on a knife's edge through 2020.
Canada's longest railroad strike in a decade ended on Tuesday as Canadian National Railway reached a tentative agreement with its union, but shippers warned it could take weeks before service bounces back to normal.
Alimentation Couche-Tard missed quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday, as the Canadian convenience store operator's fuel business was hit by lower selling prices.
RBC cut the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $78 from $80
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Calian Group to $45 from $40
National Bank of Canada raises the price target on Lundin Mining to $8.75 from $8.50
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained back 1.51 points Tuesday to 531.73
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures rose slightly on Wednesday, putting the major averages on track more records at the open.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials crept up five points, or 0.02%, Wednesday to 28,135.
Futures for the S&P 500 acquired 3.5 points, or 0.1%, at 3,147.25.
The NASDAQ Composite added 18 points, or 0.2%, to 8,418.75.
Those gains built on the market’s recent run to all-time highs that was sparked by optimism around U.S.-China trade talks. Over the past month, the Dow and S&P 500 are up 4.3% and 3.9%, respectively. The
NASDAQ Composite is up nearly 5% in that time.
Wednesday’s moves come ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday for which the market will be closed on Thursday. Typically, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving has been a good day for stocks. Data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows the Dow has only declined 16 times in the past 66 years the day before the holiday.
Deere & Company is among a sparse crowd of firms announcing earnings today.
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims report and personal income and spending numbers will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET. Durable goods orders for October and the second reading of real third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be published at the same time.
Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for November, and pending home sales for October, will follow slightly later in the session.
The Federal Reserve’s Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, also known as the Beige Book, will be released at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.3% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index inched up 0.2%.
Oil prices were unchanged at $58.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices handed back $2.90 to $1,464.50 U.S. an ounce.
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