Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Tuesday, weighed down by falling gold prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed negative 79.04 points to close Monday at 16,462.95
The Canadian dollar slid 0.17 cents to 76.18 cents U.S. early Tuesday
September futures slid 0.1% Tuesday.
RBC raised the rating on Genworth MI Canada to outperform from sector perform
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on Source Energy Services to hold from speculative buy
J.P. Morgan cut the target price on Teck Resources to $50.00 from $55.00
Economically speaking, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 245,657 units from a revised 196,809 units in May. Economists had projected starts to rise to 210,000.
Elsewhere, Statistics Canada said, following a record $9.5 billion in April, the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities declined 13.0% to $8.2 billion in May, largely due to a drop in British Columbia. Excluding B.C., the national value of permits rose 3.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.25 points Monday to 588.03
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were lower on Tuesday as traders waited to hear from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 96 points, or 0.4%, to 26,697.
Futures for the S&P 500 lost 10.5 points, or 0.4%, at 2,968.
NASDAQ futures fell 29.25 points, or 0.4%, to 7,771.75
In corporate news, PepsiCo shares rose 1% after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Levi Strauss is scheduled to report quarterly numbers after the bell.
Powell is scheduled to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. This comes just after a stronger-than-expected jobs report raised questions about the central bank’s rate policy.
Investors will be looking for clues on whether the Fed will cut rates later this month, as it is widely expected, or if the central bank thinks the economy is strong enough to maintain current economic policy.
Powell is also scheduled to give a speech at 8:45 a.m. ET on bank stress tests on Tuesday.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 squeezed ahead 0.1% Tuesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.8%
Oil prices regained 28 cents to $57.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell back $6.10 to $1,393.90 U.S. an ounce.
