Canada stock futures rose, a day after the main index closed at a 16-month high, and after Democrat Hillary Clinton was perceived winner of the third and final U.S. presidential debate.
The S&P/TSX Composite took on 88.24 points to close Wednesday at 14,840.49, after a gain of 150 points-plus Tuesday
The Canadian dollar dwindled 0.39 cents to 75.87 cents U.S. early Thursday.
UBS cut the target price on Canadian Pacific Railway to $221.00 from $225.00, considering an insignificant difference in the company’s outlook for 2017.
National Bank Financial cut the target price on Gildan Activewear to $42.00 from $43.00, due primarily to challenging market conditions.
National Bank Financial raised the target price Industrial Alliance Insurance to $48.00 from $45.00, considering an improving earnings profile in 2017.
Thursday was also the day for earnings reports.
Altagas Ltd expects Q3 earnings of 18 cents per share
Celestica Inc projects Q3 earnings of 30 cents per share
IMAX Corp looks for Q3 earnings of eight cents per share
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that those drawing regular employment insurance totaled 563,000 in August, down 3% from the previous month. This decrease followed a 5% increase in July, when legislative changes to the EI program came into effect. On a year-over-year basis, the number of beneficiaries was up 23,700, or 4.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 5.76 points Wednesday to 789.40
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures gave back some of their gains Thursday after the European Central Bank decided against changing its interest rates.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained seven points to 18,132, while futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.5 points to 2,138.50. NASDAQ futures moved up 2.5 points at 4,832.75.
Investors also digested the final U.S. presidential debate, as market strategists generally said it helped Hillary Clinton maintain her lead over Donald Trump.
On the earnings front, Travelers, Union Pacific, Bank of New York Mellon and American Airlines Group are among those set to report before the bell on Thursday morning. Microsoft, PayPal, Boston Beer and Morningstar are among companies set to report after the bell.
Dow component Verizon reported mixed quarterly results, beating estimates on the bottom line while missing at the top.
On the data front, initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed survey are due this morning, with existing home sales and leading indicators set to be released a bit later.
The decision to keep policy unchanged was expected by nearly all 71 analysts, even as the vast majority of them still expect the ECB to extend the bond buying program when the Governing Council next meets in December.
In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx-600 index slipped 0.2% after the ECB's decision. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.4% higher. The Shanghai Composite in China closed flat.
Oil prices sank 72 cents to $50.88 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices moved up $2.40 to $1,272.30 U.S. an ounce.
