Markets in Canada’s largest centre were set to open lower on Thursday, after closing at a record high a day earlier, as investors assessed results of companies, including Bombardier and Encana.
The S&P/TSX Composite grew 58.92 points to close Wednesday at 15,844.95, with futures down 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.32 cents to 76.84 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Bombardier Inc reported lower-than-expected revenue, hurt by weak demand in its rail and business aircraft units.
Cenovus Energy Inc., reported a surprise quarterly profit as production rose and costs fell.
Encana Corp reported a quarterly operating profit that topped analysts' estimates and boosted its 2017 capital expenditure target by 50% from a year earlier.
Credit Suisse raised the target price on Barrick Gold to $25.00 from $23.00
CIBC raised the rating on Colliers International Group to outperform from neutral
CIBC cut the target price on First Capital Realty to $22.00 from $23.00
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported that folks drawing employment insurance in December numbered 568,000, down 3,200 or 0.6% from the previous month.
Also, the Canadian Real Estate Association said national home sales declined 1.3% from December 2016 to January 2017. CREA said actual (not seasonally-adjusted) activity in January was up 1.9% from a year earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 2.82 points Wednesday to 838.14
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures traded lower on Thursday as traders continued to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and economic data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 40 points, or 0.2%, to 20,583. Futures for the S&P 500 faltered 5.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,345.25. NASDAQ futures dipped 4.5 points, or 0.1%, at 5,305.50
On the earnings front, Alexion Pharma, Encana and TransCanada are among the major companies that reported before the bell. Digital Realty Trust, Republic Services and TrueCar are all due to report after the market close.
On the data front, U.S. housing starts fell 2.6% last month. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims came in at 239,000, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve index reaching its highest level since 1984 at 43.3.
In Europe, markets dipped by noon local time, while the CSI 300 in Shanghai gained 0.6%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan subtracted 0.5% Thursday.
Oil prices moved higher 29 cents to $53.40 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $6.40 to $1,239.50 U.S. an ounce.
