Futures for Canada’s largest equity markets were little changed on Thursday, as investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings, while lower oil prices were poised to pressure energy companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 33.35 points to finish Wednesday at 15,330.58
The Canadian dollar sank 0.01 cents to 79.55 cents U.S. Thursday morning.
March futures inched up 0.1% Thursday.
BCE Inc reported a 12.5% fall in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt by higher expenses and asset impairment charges of $82 million.
Telus Corp. reported higher fourth-quarter earnings compared with a year earlier, helped by lower spending.
Thomson Reuters Corp beat earnings expectations in the fourth quarter, even as revenue slightly missed Wall Street's forecasts.
Berenberg raised the price target on First Quantum Minerals to $19.00 from $14.25
Berenberg raised the price target on Lundin Mining to $9 from $7.50
Berenberg raised the price target on Teck Resources to $44.00 from $35.00
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that prices for new houses were unchanged in December, while showing limited growth in some markets.
The trend in housing starts was 224,865 units in January 2018, compared to 226,346 units in December 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.04 points, to finish Wednesday at 830.69
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open Thursday as Wall Street tried to regain its footing after a recent uptick in volatility.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 12.65 points, or 0.1%, to 24,862
S&P 500 futures acquired 3.84 points, or 0.1%, to 2,684, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite took on 28.23 points, or 0.4%, at 6,613.25
The movements seen in U.S. futures come on the back of a slightly negative close on Wednesday. In the previous session, U.S. stocks finished in the red as interest rates climbed back toward multi-year highs.
CVS Health, Twitter and T-Mobile all reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of CVS rose 1.2% in the pre-market, while Twitter spiked 23.4% higher. T-Mobile traded 1% higher.
Meantime, after the bell, AIG, Nvidia, Activision Blizzard, Expedia, News Corp., FireEye, Lions Gate and Skechers are scheduled to report.
Looking to data, jobless claims were to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.1%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index improved 0.4%.
Oil prices gained 48 cents to $61.31 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $1.10 to $1,315.70 U.S. an ounce.
