Stock futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Thursday as gains in oil prices on concerns of a drop in Venezuelan exports were kept in check by surging production from the United States.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 48.57 points to close Wednesday at 16,170.82
The Canadian dollar eased back 0.01 cents to 77.26 U.S. early Thursday
June futures eked up 0.1% Thursday
Dollar-store chain Dollarama Inc reported a 7.3% rise in quarterly profit as customers spent more at its stores during the Easter holiday.
Canadian Pacific Railway conductors and locomotive engineers will get a 9% salary hike over four years as part of a tentative agreement reached last week with the Teamsters.
Desjardins raised the rating on Alamos Gold to buy from hold
Desjardins cut the rating on IAMGOLD to hold from buy
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture advanced 6.59 points Wednesday to 774.44
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures rose ahead of the open on Thursday, building on strong gains seen in the previous session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 69 points, or 0.3%, to 25,209
S&P 500 futures picked up 3.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,775.50, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index dipped 1.5 points to 7,213.50
Broadcom Inc. and J.M. Smucker Company are among the firms set to report earnings today.
Elsewhere, any developments surrounding talks between the U.S. and North Korea will continue to keep investors on edge, as a summit between the two nations draws closer. Traders will also monitor comments at a G-7 summit.
U.S. shares are also set to trade on key data releases. There will be jobless claims due at 8:30 a.m. ET and consumer credit numbers out at 3 p.m. ET.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 0.9% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index traveled 0.8% higher.
Oil prices added 67 cents to $65.40 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices tacked on $2.60 to $1,304 U.S. an ounce.
