Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Canada's main stock index as a weaker U.S. dollar pushed up the prices of commodities such as gold, oil and copper
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 59.66 points to close Wednesday at 15,110.47
The Canadian dollar slid 0.16 cents to 80.14 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said its quarterly profit more than tripled, boosted by a buoyant Canadian capital market and after a charge in its Caribbean unit a year ago. Net income attributable to common shareholders rose to $895 million, or $2.25 per share, in the second quarter ended April 30 from $292 million, or 73 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
Royal Bank of Canada posted a rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by strength in its domestic banking and capital markets divisions. The company said net income for the second quarter ended April 30 was $2.5 billion, or $1.68 a share, compared with $2.2 billion, or $1.47 a share, a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were $1.61 a share. Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.60 a share.
Toronto Dominion Bank posted a quarterly profit that topped market expectations on Thursday, driven by solid growth in its Canadian retail business. Net income was $1.86 billion, or 97 cents a share, for the second quarter ended April 30, compared with $1.99 billion, or $1.04 a share, a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings rose to $1.14 a share. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.11 a share
U.S. health regulators approved new irritable bowel syndrome drugs from Actavis Plc and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc on Wednesday, validating big investments both companies made to acquire the products.
The Food and Drug Administration approved eluxadoline, to be sold under the brand name Viberzi, which Actavis obtained with its $1.1-billion acquisition last year of Furiex Pharmaceuticals. The agency also approved Valeant's Xifaxan, also known as rifaximin, which the company acquired with its $11-billion purchase earlier this year of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Chile's environmental regulator filed charges against Lundin Mining Corp on Wednesday for a series of irregularities at its Candelaria copper deposit, the latest mine to fall under the regulator's increasingly watchful eye. The SMA regulator found 16 environmental irregularities at Candelaria between 2013 and 2014, including nine which it qualified as "grave."
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said its Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.9% in April, mainly because of lower prices for energy and petroleum products. The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index increased 3.8% in the same month, largely as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
Gross Domestic Product figures for March are due Friday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.34 points Wednesday to 690.62
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are pointing lower
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 60 points, or 0.3%, to 18,081, futures for the S&P 500 fell 5.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,115.50, and futures for the NASDAQ dipped 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,532.25.
Retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and Express are reporting ahead of the open.
Gamestop will report after the close.
Some of the biggest sponsors of world soccer are stepping up the pressure on FIFA in the wake of Wednesday's corruption revelations. Visa has told the governing body to clean up its act or risk losing it as a sponsor.
Google is kicking off its annual two-day developer conference, where it will showcase its latest tech innovations. It's expected to unveil a spruced up Android operating system.
The U.S. government is posting weekly jobless claims this morning.
Government data on pending home sales from April will be released soon afterwards.
European markets are mostly in the red, and Chinese stocks have suffered a major drop.
Both the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen indexes fell by over 5% Thursday, though this comes on the heels of a stunning rise. The Shenzhen has surged by as much as 100% since the start of 2015, easily making it the world's top performing stock market.
Oil prices lost a penny to $57.50 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices were unchanged at $1,186.50 U.S. an ounce.
