Futures for Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday on lower oil prices and intensifying fears of an imminent escalation in the U.S.-China tariff war.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 85.87 points to end Tuesday at 16,431.34, and pointing up 0.9% on the month of July.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.03 cents at 76.77 cents U.S. early Wednesday
September futures drew back 2.5% Wednesday
Encana Corp on Wednesday posted a 10% rise in adjusted operating profit, helped by an increase in production and higher selling prices for crude.
Fairfax could become Irish insurer FBD's second largest shareholder by September by converting a bond into equity, according to the latter company’s chief executive.
Sherritt International said on Tuesday that recent weakness in the price of cobalt, a key material in rechargeable batteries, is expected to be temporary as demand continues to grow from the electric vehicle market.
CIBC raises the price target on George Weston to $119.00 from $115.00
Desjardins raised the rating on Intact Financial to hold from sell, raising its target price to $102.00 from $100.00
RBC raised the target price on Jamieson Wellness to $27.00 from $26.00
On the economic front, Markit Canada will be out this morning (9:30 a.m. ET) with the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.96 points to 706.91
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pulled back ahead of Wednesday's open, as the Federal Reserve's policy meeting draws to a close.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials eased off 28 points, or 0.1%, to 25,367.
S&P 500 futures poked up 0.5 points to 2,817.50, while futures for the NASDAQ composite gained 18.5 points, or 0.3%, to 7,263.25.
Earnings season continues Wednesday, with Restaurant Brands International, Sprint, AMC Entertainment, AutoNation, Generac, Tesla Motors, T-Mobile U.S., Square, Wynn Resorts, Yum China, FireEye and Fitbit all due to report.
Elsewhere, Apple announced strong results after Tuesday's market close; with the tech giant posting $9.55 billion in software and services revenue for the third quarter.
In economic data, ADP employment figures were released this morning, with manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) set to come out at 9:45 a.m. ET, and ISM manufacturing data and construction spending at 10 a.m. ET.
Investors will pay close attention when the Federal Reserve delivers its latest policy decisions at 2 p.m. ET, concluding a two-day Federal Open Market Committee conference. While market-watchers are not expecting a rise in interest rates, discussion on trade or where the Federal Reserve is thinking of heading could be on the table.
The meeting follows recent releases of economic data and the news that President Donald Trump was "not thrilled" about rising interest rates, expressing concern that the Fed could upset the economic recovery.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 hiked 0.9% while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tumbled 0.9%.
Oil prices dropped 88 cents to $67.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.70 to $1,232.30 U.S. an ounce.
