Stock futures pointed to a modestly lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Tuesday, as investors pondered the monthly gross domestic product report for July.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Monday lower by 49.85 points to 14,976.92. Futures were down 0.05% Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.05 cents to 89.52 cents U.S. early Friday.
TMX Group Ltd named Lou Eccleston as its new chief executive, the Toronto Stock Exchange operator said on Monday, after a lengthy global search to replace the retiring CEO Tom Kloet.
Acumen cut the price target on Black Diamond Group to $32.50 with a buy rating.
TD Securities resumes coverage on Concordia Healthcare Corp with buy rating
BMO raised the target price on Fortis Inc. to $36 from $34, with a market perform rating.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that real gross domestic product was essentially unchanged in July, following six consecutive monthly gains.
The agency says notable growth in manufacturing and the public sector was offset by significant declines in mining and oil and gas extraction as well as in utilities.
The Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.2% in August, mainly because of higher prices for motorized and recreational vehicles.
The Raw Materials Price Index declined 2.2% last month, mostly as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 6.66 points Monday to 912.76
.
ON WALLSTREET
It looks like the month of September could end with a whimper on U.S. markets.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 50 points, or 0.3%, to 17,030. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 6.25, or 0.3%, to 1,975.75, and futures for the NASDAQ bolted higher 21.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,057.
The past month has been difficult for investors.
Ahead of the final trading day of the month, all the main U.S. indexes were in the red. The NASDAQ has been hurting the worst, down by about 1.6% over September. The S&P 500 also dropped by just over 1%.
Walgreens is the main company reporting earnings before the opening bell.
Economically speaking, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is set to come out at 9 a.m. ET. And the U.S. Conference Board will publish its monthly consumer confidence index at 10 a.m. ET.
Hong Kong's main stock market index, the Hang Seng, kept falling Tuesday as large pro-democracy protests show no signs of abating. The index has dropped for the past four trading days.
Given considerable uncertainty over how the protests will play out, investors are selling Hong Kong stocks or sitting on the sidelines.
Anemic Chinese manufacturing data for September also dampened sentiment. The widely watched HSBC index tracking the sector was revised down slightly for the month, to 50.2 from the initial reading of 50.5.
European markets were broadly higher in early trading, with the exception of the FTSE 100. The CAC 40 in Paris was advancing by 0.4%, other major indexes posted narrower gains
Oil prices faded 15 cents to $94.42 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slipped $11.30 to $1,207.50 U.S. an ounce.
