Markets in North America were hopeful of putting a fairly dismal session behind them Thursday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 26.44 points to close Wednesday at 16,105.35
The Canadian dollar gained 0.34 cents at 78.69 cents U.S. Thursday morning.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that New house prices in Canada rose 0.2% in September, largely reflecting increases in the census metropolitan areas of Kelowna (+0.9%) and Vancouver (+0.7%). Builders tied the rise to improved market conditions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 1.8 points Wednesday to 794.79
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open Thursday, as investors pivoted their attention to the latest flood of corporate earnings
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 91 points, or 0.4%, to 23,400
S&P 500 futures dropped 11.75 points, or 0.5%, to 2,579.25, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite index lost 38 points, or 0.6%, to 6,303.50
Corporate earnings are expected to shake up some sentiment today, as a whole slew of major brands gear up to publish their latest financial figures.
Ahead of the opening bell, Office Depot, D.R. Horton, Party City, Kohl's, Time Inc., Macy's, TransCanada and Azul are some of the companies set to release earnings.
Looking past the bell, Disney, Nvidia, News Corp., Hertz Global, Lionsgate, Redfin and Equifax are also expected to keep investors on edge as they get ready to report.
In data news, jobless claims are set to come out at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by wholesale trade at 10 a.m. ET.
Overseas, European stocks were slipped into the red, approaching noon on the continent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.2%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.7%.
Oil prices were unchanged at $56.81 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices gained $3.30 to $1,287 U.S. an ounce.
