Futures for stocks on Canada’s biggest exchange fell Wednesday as investors awaited the interest rate decision from Bank of Canada and on concerns about Hurricane Irma, a powerful Atlantic storm, en route to a possible Florida landfall at the weekend.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 101.45 points to end Tuesday at 15,090.15
September futures doffed 0.2% on Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.15 cents to 80.7 cents U.S. Wednesday morning.
Canada, Mexico and the United States made progress in talks to update the NAFTA trade pact, a relief after repeated criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump, although the round did not delve deeply into the toughest issues.
Hudson's Bay Co reported on Tuesday a steeper-than-forecast quarterly loss but retail sales slightly topped expectations as new store openings and a favorable foreign exchange impact offset fewer shoppers and more sales promotions.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on IAMGOLD to $10.00 from $9.75
RBC raised the price target on Transcontinental Inc. to $26.00 from $25.00
Economically speaking, the Bank of Canada announces its rate decision around 10 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere, Statistics Canada reported Canada's merchandise trade deficit totaled $3.0 billion in July, narrowing from a $3.8-billion deficit in June. Imports fell 6.0% while exports decreased 4.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.31 points Tuesday to 779.76
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities were set for a rebound on Wednesday, with stock futures trading higher, led by some large-cap tech names.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials moved up 31 points, or 0.1%, to 21,795. S&P 500 futures inched up 3.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,463.25, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite index added 15.25 points, or 0.3%, to 5,954.50
Shares of Facebook, Netflix and Apple all traded higher in the pre-market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock also rose after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.
On the data front, international trade is due out this morning, followed by the Purchasing Managers Index services index and the Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing report.
Another big major data point is set to be released at 2.00 p.m. ET, which is the latest publication of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 skidded 0.1% and the CSI 300 in Shanghai slid 0.2%
Oil prices increased 55 cents to $49.21 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices were unchanged at $1,344.50 U.S. an ounce.
