Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for indexes in Toronto on Tuesday as investors awaited the start of the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, even as oil prices recovered modestly from three-month lows.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index acquired 38.14 points to close Monday at 15,544.82, with March futures slid 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar subsided 0.21 cents to 74.13 cents U.S. early Tuesday.
Billionaire investor William Ackman walked away from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International on Monday with a loss of more than $3 billion as he sold his entire stake in the struggling drug company after trying to rescue it for some 18 months.
TD Securities raised the target price on Spin Master Corp. to $43.00 from $39.00
Eight Capital revised the rating on DH Corp to tender from buy
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 5.36 points Monday to 804.55
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday morning as traders fixated on a continued decline in oil prices and a probable March rate hike.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials ducked 62 points, or 0.3%, to 20,777. Futures for the S&P 500 backpedaled 8.5 points, or 0.4%, to 2,363.25. NASDAQ futures fell 15.5 points, or 0.3%, at 5,383.75.
Among firms out with figures, Volkswagen, HD Supply Holdings and DSW are all scheduled to report earnings before the bell. China Lodging Group and Fogo de Chao are both due to report after the market close.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Producer Price Index rose 0.3% in February.
Moreover, the National Federation of Independent Business said its small business optimism index rose 0.2 points to a reading of 93.8 last month.
The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday as the market anticipated the Fed to raise interest rates for just the third time in 10 years.
In Asia, the CSI 300 in China was fairly flat, while the Nikkei in Japan closed 0.1% lower.
Oil prices settled 65 cents to $47.75 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices gained $2.40 to $1,205.50 U.S. an ounce.
