Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Tuesday, suggesting a return of risk appetite on waning worries about more U.S. strikes in Syria.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 26.41 points to close Monday at 15,300.38
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.09 cents to 79.66 cents U.S. early Tuesday
June futures inched up 0.1% Tuesday.
Alberta on Monday edged closer to cutting off fuel shipments to neighboring British Columbia in an escalation of a row over the stalled $7.4-billion expansion of the Kinder Morgan Canada Trans Mountain pipeline.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Rogers Communications to $66.00 from $71.00
CIBC cut the target price on Spartan Energy to $6.50 from $8.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales increased 1.9% to $55.8 billion in February, following two consecutive monthly decreases. The growth was due mainly to higher sales in the transportation equipment industry.
Elsewhere, foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $4.0 billion in February, down from $5.6 billion in January. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $6.3 billion, following two months of strong acquisitions.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 6.02 points Monday to 801.96
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures rose sharply ahead of Tuesday's open, as investors braced for a wave of fresh corporate earnings.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 214 points, or 0.9%, to 24,777.00
S&P 500 futures gained 16.25 points, or 0.6%, to 2,698, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index added 45 points, or 0.7%, to 6,757
Netflix was the biggest mover in the S&P 500 before the bell, rising nearly 7% after reporting in-line quarterly earnings and higher-than-expected subscriber growth.
Johnson & Johnson, a Dow component, rose 0.8% in the pre-market after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Earnings season continues on Tuesday with Goldman Sachs and IBM among the companies scheduled to report.
Last weekend, the U.S. military conducted missile strikes against the Syrian government, in response to a suspected chemical attack that took place in the Middle Eastern country.
The strike carried out by the U.S. was done in collaboration with Britain and France. Consequently, geopolitics and tensions in the Middle East remain at the forefront of investors' minds.
On the economic data front, housing starts and a business leaders’ survey are both scheduled to be published at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by industrial production at 9:15 a.m. ET.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.1%, but in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index faded 0.8%.
Oil prices gained two cents to $66.24 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices slumped $5.30 to $1,345.40 U.S. an ounce.
