Futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Thursday, a day after ending a week-long losing streak as calm returned to global markets.
The S&P/TSX Composite leapt 115.73 points to finish Wednesday at 16,265.22
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.1 cents to 75.25 cents U.S. early Thursday
September futures squeezed up 0.03% Thursday.
Magna International trimmed its sales forecast for the year, as it expects a drop in vehicle production in North America and Europe due to weak global demand and the impact of U.S.-China trade tensions.
Canadian Tire Corp reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt mainly by lower margins in its petroleum retail business.
TMX Group posted quarterly adjusted profit on Wednesday that topped market expectations, as it reined in operating expenses and benefited from strength in its global solutions business. RBC raised the target price on TMX to $118.00 from $106.00
Manulife Financial on Wednesday edged past estimates for second-quarter profit, helped by strength in its large Asia unit.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Argonaut Gold to $3.90 from $3.75
CIBC maintained a target price of $7.00 on Bonterra Energy
RBC raises target price to C$118 from C$106
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported new housing prices were down 0.1% at the national level for the second consecutive month in June. Prices have been flat or falling since last August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.64 points Wednesday to 597.33
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures rose slightly Thursday as global bond yields stabilized while investors digested better-than-expected trade data out of China.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gathered 61 points, or 0.2%, to 26,001
Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 8.25 points, or 0.3%, at 2,888.75
NASDAQ futures gained 32.75 points, or 0.4%, to 7,586
Futures also gained as Disney shares climbed 1% in the pre-market. Disney’s gains come after an analyst at Credit Suisse upgraded the media giant to outperform from neutral, citing expectation for a successful Disney+ launch.
Strong data out of China helped calm Wall Street down. China said exports rose 3.3% on a year-over-year basis in July. Economists expected exports to fall by 2%.
Caterpillar shares also capped gains, falling more than 1% after an analyst at Goldman Sachs downgraded it to neutral from buy. The analyst said headwinds from China and North America’s construction equipment market hinder him from justifying a buy rating on Caterpillar.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index reacquired 0.4% Thursday, while in the Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.5%,
Oil prices recovered $1.04 to $52.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $9.60 to $1,510.00 U.S. an ounce.
