Stock futures pointed to a flat opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as investors found few reasons to continue buying in the absence of any major economic catalyst.
The S&P/TSX composite index spiked 138.70 points to close Tuesday at 15,477.17. The index ran its win streak to four, and hiked its gains for the year so far to 13%. Wednesday’s futures, meanwhile, were up but 0.03%.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.07 cents to 91.32 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Another Bombardier commercial aircraft executive has left the company, the plane and train maker said, the latest move following a major restructuring announcement last month involving its aerospace division.
Penn West Petroleum, who said last month it had discovered nearly $400 million in accounting irregularities, faces a growing number of lawsuits after its shares dropped more than a fifth following the admission.
AltaGas said it has signed a long-term strategic deal with Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd, helping secure supply for its plans to export natural gas and natural gas liquids to international markets.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $36.00 from $33.00.
Speaking of things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale sales rose 0.6% to $53.0 billion in June, a third consecutive increase.
The agency says gains in five subsectors, which together represented 69% of wholesale sales, more than offset a decline in motor vehicle and parts. Excluding this latter subsector, wholesale sales rose 1.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.94 points Tuesday to 997.56
ON WALLSTREET
Markets are struggling to take another step forward ahead of some big announcements. U.S. stock futures were edging lower, European markets were down in early trading and Asian stock moves were muted.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 11 points, or 0.1%, to 16,870. Futures for the S&P 500 fell two points, or 0.1%, to 1,975.25, and futures for the NASDAQ sagged 0.75 points to 4,033.50.
A number of major American retailers are reporting Wednesday.
American Eagle, Lowe's, and Staples will report earnings before the opening bell. Hewlett-Packard and L Brands, the firm that owns Victoria's Secret, will report after the close.
Shares in Lowe's were edging up by about 2% in advance of the earnings announcement.
Carlsberg shares were declining by about 3.5% in Europe after the Danish brewer warned that annual profits would fall, rather than grow, due to declining sales in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, shares in Heineken were rising by about 6% after the brewer reported first-half results that impressed investors. The company was upbeat about its prospects for the rest of the year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will release minutes from its July meeting at 2 p.m. ET. This could be one of the biggest market-moving events of the week if there are any surprises in the minutes.
Oil prices gained $1.22 to $95.70 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dipped $1.30 to $1,295.40 U.S. an ounce.
