Equity markets in Toronto were set to open higher on Tuesday, reversing losses from the previous session, ahead of economic data including trade balance and building permits.
The S&P/TSX Composite tailed off 19.45 points to close Monday at 15,456.94, with March futures advancing 0.3% Tuesday morning.
The Canadian dollar deleted 0.53 cents to 75.89 cents U.S. early Tuesday.
WestJet Airlines reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as the Canadian carrier flew more passengers.
CIBC raised the target price on AltaGas Ltd. to $39 from $37
Canaccord Genuity started coverage on Auryn Resources with a speculative buy rating
Barclays drastically cut the target price on Open Text Corp. to $53 from $101, with an overweight.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.2 billion worth of building permits in December, down 6.6% from November.
Lower construction intentions were recorded for all components, led by commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings.
The agency also revealed that Canada's merchandise trade balance with the rest of the world recorded its second consecutive monthly surplus, narrowing from a revised $1.0 billion in November to $923 million in December. Exports were up 0.8% while imports increased 1.0%.
Later this morning (circa 10 a.m.), Western University’s IVEY School of Business issues its Purchasing Managers’ Index for January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.09 points Monday to 826.37
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday as traders eyed a big day of earnings and economic data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials progressed 58 points, or 0.3%, to 20.030. Futures for the S&P 500 took on five points, or 0.2%, to 2,291.50. NASDAQ futures gained 10.5 points, or 0.2%, at 5,168.25.
On the earnings front, General Motors, Archer Daniels Midland and Michael Kors were among the companies that reported before the bell.
Disney, Gilead Sciences, Mondelez, Pioneer Natural Resources and Zillow are among many other companies due to report after the market close.
On the data front, Tuesday will see U.S. trade deficit released, followed by job openings and labor turnover survey data this morning. Consumer credit data for December is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
Many European markets were higher approached noon on the continent, while the Nikkei and Hang Seng indexes stumbled in Asia.
Oil prices dropped 29 cents to $52.72 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slumped $1.10 to $1,231 U.S. an ounce.
