Futures in Canada’s largest stock market were little changed on Wednesday as oil prices dipped on higher U.S. crude inventories and a slump in Chinese demand.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained positive 41.86 points to close Tuesday at 15,498.80. March futures eked up 0.05% Wednesday
The Canadian dollar gained 0.27 cents to 76.07 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
The federal government on Tuesday announced $372.5 million in repayable loans for two of Bombardier's jet programs, promising to defend the deal against a potential trade challenge by Brazil.
The union for workers at Canadian Natural Resources' Baobab and Espoir oil and gas fields in Ivory Coast launched a 72-hour strike Wednesday over employment conditions
CIBC raised the target price on Genworth MI Canada to $40.00 from $37.00
CIBC raised the target price on TMX Group to $74.00 from $68.00
CIBC cut the target price on Westjet Airlines to $25.00 from $26.50
On the economic front, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning that its trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 199,834 units in January compared to 197,881 in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed afloat 0.65 points Tuesday to 827.02
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Wednesday as traders focused on a slew of company earnings and the latest oil inventory data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials eased 14 points, or 0.1%, to 20.004. Futures for the S&P 500 sank 3.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,285.25. NASDAQ futures subtracted 0.75 points at 5,176.
Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Time Warner and Alaska Air are among the major companies that reported earnings before the bell. Whole Foods, CenturyLink, Fiserv and Prudential Financial are all due to report after the market close.
The macroeconomic front is quiet in the United States Wednesday.
European markets were marginally higher as morning became afternoon across the Atlantic, while the Nikkei in Japan closed 0.5% higher.
Oil prices fell 39 cents to $51.78 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $5.80 to $1,241.90 U.S. an ounce.
