Canada’s main index futures edged lower on Thursday, ahead of U.S.-China trade talks starting later in the day.
The TSX Composite Index grew 85.92 points to conclude Wednesday at 16,379.87
The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 75.13 cents U.S. early Thursday
December futures dawdled 0.2% early Thursday.
Canopy Growth has appointed Constellation Brands Chief Financial Officer David Klein as the new chair of its board.
Scotiabank raised target price on Enbridge to $55.00 from $52.00
CIBC cuts target price on NFI Group to $40.00 from $41.00
Evercore ISI cut the target price on Suncor Energy to $45.00 from $50.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s new housing price gained 0.1% in August, the first increase since July 2018.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 2.07 points Wednesday to 550.60
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower Thursday morning, as investors closely monitor the status of high-level trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 46 points, or 0.2%, early Thursday to 26,259
Futures for the S&P 500 sank four points, or 0.1%, at 2,915.00
NASDAQ Composite fell 8.25 points, or 0.1%, to 7,691.50
In corporate news, Delta Air Lines will publish its latest quarterly results before the opening bell.
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims figures and consumer price index data for September will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET. The full-year 2019 federal budget will be released slightly later in the session.
Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments after a slew of conflicting reports around Thursday’s U.S.-China trade talks sent investors for a wild ride.
The initial report that hit futures came from the South China Morning Post, which said the U.S. and China made no progress in deputy-level trade talks this week.
The report added that higher-level talks with China’s Vice Premier Liu He would now be only one day, with the China delegation planning to leave Washington on Thursday instead of Friday as scheduled. The issue of forced technology transfers, which China refused to put on the table, was the reason talks were at a standstill
Earlier in the week, the Department of Commerce added 28 new Chinese companies and agencies to a “blacklist.” The move soured the tone of the lower-level talks, which were meant to set the table for an actual trade agreement later in the week.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng nicked higher 0.1%.
Oil prices picked up 35 cents to $52.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices ditched 60 cents to $1,512.20 U.S. an ounce.
