Futures for Canada's main stock index steadied on Wednesday after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan, following a visit which heightened Sino-U.S. tensions, while higher gold prices were set to buoy miners.
The TSX ended Tuesday down 187.59 points, to 19,505.33.
Futures for the TSX eked ahead 0.1% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar galloped 0.23 cents to 77.81 cents U.S.
Britain's competition regulator said on Wednesday that Canadian cloud-based software firm Dye & Durham should sell U.K.-based TM Group after its investigation identified competition concerns.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.72 points, or 1.4%, Tuesday to 654.76.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures traded higher Wednesday, as traders tried to regain their footing following back-to-back losing sessions.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 138 points, or 0.4%, early Wednesday to 32,503.
Futures for the S&P 500 forged ahead 19.75 points, or 0.5%, to 4,113.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite took on 60.5 points, or 0.5%, to 12,985.
Traders are also anticipating another batch of second-quarter earnings. CVS, Regeneron, Under Armour and Moderna will report before the bell Wednesday.
In economic data, investors this week are awaiting mortgage demand numbers and PMI data out Wednesday.
Those moves came as Wall Street worried that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan could further strain already tense U.S.-China relations. China had spent weeks warning her not to make the trip. Markets fell further after three Federal Reserve presidents hinted that further rate hikes would be necessary to combat high inflation.
Traders also digested mixed remarks from Federal Reserve officials. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Tuesday he was confident that the U.S. economy could achieve a “soft landing.”
Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank’s work to tame inflation is “far from done,” while Chicago Fed’s Charles Evans said there’s a chance for a smaller rate hike at the next monetary policy meeting.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% Wednesday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng prospered 0.4%
Oil prices gained $1.08 to $95.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $8.30 to $1,781.40 U.S. an ounce.
