Markets in Canada’s largest centre were set to open higher on Wednesday, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a surprisingly large stimulus package to reflate Japan's economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite moved up 51.9 points to close Tuesday at 14,550, with September futures inching up 0.1% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.03 cents to 75.8 cents U.S. early Wednesday
Investor focus was also on quarterly results from major companies including Barrick Gold, Goldcorp and Suncor Energy Inc later in the day.
Sherritt International’s CEO has expressed confidence his company and its partners in a large Madagascar nickel mine will reach agreement soon with lenders to defer repaying project loans for several years.
An oil spill into a major Canadian river from a Husky Energy pipeline started last week, but flows were not shut down until the following morning.
Raymond James raised the price target on Bonavista Energy to $3.75 from $3.50
Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Whitecap Resources with a buy rating
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 4.57 points Tuesday to 770.91
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are pushing higher and the NASDAQ is doing particularly well, likely prodded by Apple’s fortunes.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials picked up 46 points, or 0.3%, to 18,444, while futures for the S&P 500 gained 3.5 points, or 0.2%, at 2,166.75. NASDAQ futures bolted higher 35.25 points, or 0.8%, to 4,699.
Apple shares are rising by about 7% pre-market after the company reported its latest earnings, which revealed a sales slowdown. However, the results weren't as dire as expected.
On the other end of the spectrum, Twitter stock is tumbling after its latest set of results disappointed investors.
The company has been trying to attract new users by adding more video streaming and better news curation features. But its monthly active user base only grew by an underwhelming three million compared to the previous quarter.
Earnings season continues with Coca-Cola, Boeing, Anthem, Comcast, Fiat Chrysler, T-Mobile and Hilton Hotels reporting ahead of the U.S. market open.
Investors will also hear from dozens of companies this afternoon, including Facebook, Marriott, Whole Foods and GoPro
The U.S. Federal Reserve is slated to announce its decision on interest rates at 2 p.m. ET. The market is widely expecting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, local media are reporting that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he's working on a new economic stimulus package worth more than 28 trillion yen ($265 billion U.S.).
Asian markets closed with mixed results. Chinese markets posted the biggest losses while the Nikkei index in Tokyo jumped by 1.7%.
European markets are mostly rising in early trading, though the gains are relatively modest.
Oil prices dipped 16 cents to $42.76 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gave back 40 cents at $1,320.40 U.S. an ounce.
