Canadian stock index futures inched higher on Thursday as upbeat earnings from heavyweights such as Apple and Facebook outweighed weak results from Potash Corp.
The S&P/TSX composite index docked 22.58 points to end Wednesday’s session at 14,533.39, and June futures were up 0.06%
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.05 cents to 90.70 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, the world's biggest fertilizer company, said it expects a weaker second-quarter after reporting a fall in first-quarter profit.
The disagreements around the spinout of certain assets that had snagged merger talks between Barrick Gold Corp and Newmont Mining Corp have been resolved but talks are at a standstill for now.
Nautilus Minerals Inc said it had signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to move towards production at its Solwara 1 underwater copper mining project.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 6.10 points Wednesday to 1,010.98
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday, with NASDAQ futures jumping more than 1% following a pair of blowout results from technology stalwarts Apple and Facebook.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials added 31 points, or 0.2%, to 16,491. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 7.2 points, or 0.4%, at 1,880.10, and futures for the NASDAQ spiked 52.5 points, or 1.5%, to 3,607.
Apple Inc. in particular will be in focus a day after the most valuable U.S. company by market capitalization posted revenue that far outpaced expectations, helped by strong iPhone sales.
The company also approved another $30-billion U.S. stock buyback plan, raised its dividend and authorized a seven-for-one stock split, broadening the stock's appeal to individual investors.
Social media giant Facebook Inc. posted a 72% jump in first-quarter revenue, lifted by its mobile advertising business. Shares rose 5 percent to $64.41 before the bell. Twitter Inc rose 1.2% to $46.50 U.S.
Of the 141 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted results through Wednesday morning, 65.2% have topped expectations, above the long-term average of 63%. On the revenue side, 53.6% have exceeded forecasts, below the 61% long-term average.
Tech will remain in view after the market closes, when Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc are slated to post their results.
On the economic front, the U.S. Department of Labor reported initial jobless claims in the U.S. hiked to 329,000 last week from 305,000 the week before. The Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders gained 2.6% in March, the biggest gain in four months.
European markets were all pushing higher in morning trading, while Asian markets ended with mixed results.
Oil prices gained 37 cents to $101.82 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices skidded $13.80 to $1,271.10 U.S. an ounce.
