Futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Thursday, a day after Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX fell more than 1%.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 165.99 points, or 1%, to close Wednesday at 16,131.47
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.09 cents to 74.09 cents U.S. early Thursday
June futures ducked 0.2% Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will discuss their countries' joint dispute with China over Huawei during a meeting in Ottawa on Thursday.
Cowen and Company cut the price target on Canada Goose Holdings to $67 from $92
Barclays raised the price target on Descartes Systems Group to $61 from $55
Morgan Stanley raised the price target on Intact Financial to $128.00 from $125.00
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,016 in March, up 0.8% from February following four months of little change.
The agency adds that, compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 1.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 1.6 points Wednesday to 604.48.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Thursday morning as the rapid decline in bond yields stabilized, easing concerns about a recession.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 24 points, or 0.1%, to 25,133
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 6.25 points, or 0.2%, at 2,786.25
NASDAQ futures tallied 16.5 points, or 0.2%, to 7,232.50
Bank shares rose slightly along with yields. Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase traded 0.3% higher in the pre-market. Citigroup rose 1.1% after an analyst at Goldman Sachs upgraded the bank to buy from neutral. The analyst cited the potential for strong returns moving forward.
Investors are likely to closely monitor a flurry of economic data on Thursday. The latest weekly jobless claims and a second reading of gross domestic product data are both due this morning. Advance economic indicators and pending home sales for April are set for release slightly later in the session.
The protracted trade dispute between China and the U.S. still weighed on markets. A senior Chinese diplomat ramped up the rhetoric overnight. Also, China has halted soy purchases from the U.S., according to Bloomberg News.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said Thursday that provoking trade disputes amounted to “naked economic terrorism.”
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 moved downward 0.3% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index faltered 0.4%.
Oil prices let go of seven cents to $58.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $1.80 to $1,284.50 U.S. an ounce.
