Stock futures in this country were little changed on Tuesday even as oil prices steadied on expectations of firm demand matching ample supply.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index drifted lower 9.45 points to close Monday at 15,165.36
September futures nosed up 0.02% early Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar deducted 0.1 cents to 78.97 cents early Monday
Figures released Tuesday by the firm Paynet showed lending to Canadian small businesses picked up in May on stronger activity in the agriculture and consumer sectors, suggesting companies were becoming more willing to invest two years after a slump in oil prices hit the economy.
Tembec Inc's largest shareholder, Oaktree Capital Management LP, asked other shareholders to reject Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc's deal to buy the Canadian paper and cellulose pulp maker, saying it was a "flawed" sale process.
Elsewhere, Macquarie cut the rating on Air Canada to neutral from outperform
Macquarie cut the rating on Westjet Airlines to underperform from neutral
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 4.62 points Friday to 757.55
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a relatively flat open on Tuesday, as investor attention shifted to the bumper pack of earnings set to come out.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slumped 15 points, or 0.1%, to 21,566. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,456. NASDAQ futures sank 11.5 points, or 0.2%, to 5,843.50
In earnings news, IBM is one of the major names set to report. Bank of America and Dow components Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs reported earlier on Monday.
Investors will also be gearing up for a slew of data, including import prices and the Business Leaders Survey
The Housing Market Index data will follow this at 10 a.m. with Treasury International Capital at 4 p.m. ET.
European markets were mostly negative by noon Tuesday, while markets in Japan returned from a long weekend to retreat 0.6%. Shanghai’s CSI 300 inched forward 0.1%.
Oil prices gained 80 cents to $46.82 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices hiked $4.70 to $1,238.40 U.S. an ounce.
