Futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Tuesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping's promise to lower import tariffs eased concerns about a Sino-U.S. trade war.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was in the green 20.29 points to close Monday at 15,227.70
The Canadian dollar gained 0.28 cents to 78.98 cents U.S. early Tuesday
June futures ballooned 0.6% Tuesday.
The federal government on Monday said it was considering all its options on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, including a possible investment of public funds to ensure construction goes ahead, after Kinder Morgan Canada halted most work on the project and set a May 31 deadline to scrap the plan.
Meantime, CIBC cut the rating on Kinder Morgan’s stock to neutral from outperform.
As well, RBC cut the target price on Cogeco Communications to $86 from $89.
Xi said China will sharply widen market access for foreign investors, a chief complaint of the country's trading partners and a point of contention for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which has threatened billions of dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods.
On the economic front, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's seasonally-adjusted annual rate of starts declined to 225,213 in March from February’s upwardly revised 231,026. Economists had forecast starts would decline to 218,000 homes.
Statistics Canada also reported Canadian municipalities issued $8.2 billion in building permits in February, a loss of 2.6%, following a 5.2% gain in January. The agency went on to say that single-family homes as well as the commercial and institutional components saw lower levels of construction intentions in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stumbled 3.69 points Monday to 765.46
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures posted solid gains ahead of Tuesday's open, boosted by optimistic news coming out of China.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 284 points, or 1.2%, to 24,295
S&P 500 futures gained 29.75 points, or 1.1%, to 2,648.75, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index leaped 89.75 points, or 1.4%, to 6,586.75
Ford Motor rose 1.8% in the pre-market, while General Motors and Tesla both gained more than 3%. Fiat Chrysler also climbed 2.4%.
Concerns over a potential trade war between the U.S. and China have been alleviated somewhat after Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed plans Tuesday to further open up the country's economy, with measures including lowering import tariffs on autos, enforcing legal intellectual property of foreign groups and reducing duties on other consumer products.
Xi's address also appeared to boost market sentiment overseas Tuesday, with markets in Europe and Asia trading higher during their respective sessions.
On Monday, the FBI raided the New York office and residence of Michael Cohen, the personal attorney to President Donald Trump. According to media sources, agents were looking for evidence that was related to a $130,000 payment the lawyer made to porn star Stormy Daniels, prior to the 2016 election.
Elsewhere, social media and technology stocks will remain at the forefront of market talk, as the data scandal around Facebook continues to unfold. On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg is expected to appear in front of a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.5%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rocketed 1.7%.
Oil prices gained $1.34 to $64.76 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices grew $1.40 to $1,341.50 U.S. an ounce.
