Canada's main stock index futures rose on Wednesday, supported by higher oil prices and surveys showing global manufacturing activity picking up after a coronavirus-led downturn.
The TSX gained 130.55 points to close Tuesday at 16,644.99.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.18 cents Wednesday to 76.88 cents U.S.
September futures rocketed 1% Wednesday.
Calfrac Well Services investor Wilks Brothers LLC said on Tuesday it would launch a hostile $26.13-million takeover bid for one of Canada's largest oilfield service providers.
Scotiabank raised the target price on Onex Corp. to $82.00 from $81.00
Scotiabank raised the target price on Guardian Capital Group to $32.00 from $26.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked higher 3.6 points to conclude Tuesday at 754.69.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures jumped early Wednesday continuing a strong start to September for the market.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials pumped higher 188 points, or 0.7%, early Wednesday, to 28,810.
Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 23.5 points, or 0.7%, at 3,550.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite popped 124 points, or 1%, to 12,436.50.
Apple was higher by 2% in premarket trading. The shares gained 4% on Monday, the first day of trading following a four-for-one stock split.
The move in futures also followed conflicting news in the fight against the coronavirus, with Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche announcing that it would launch a new rapid antigen test in Europe by the end of the month. The company said it would apply for an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
However, an expert panel convened by the U.S. National Institute of Health said that a plasma treatment touted by President Trump and FDA head Stephen Hahn does not appear to be effective against COVID-19 based on current research.
New data on auto sales pointed to a continued economic recovery, with Autodata saying the pace of sales for August coming in at just over 15 million. The reading was down 11% year-over-year but was the highest rate since February.
Investors will be watching the ADP payroll data on Wednesday morning, one of the last reads on the labour market before the official August jobs report is released on Friday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dipped 0.3%.
Oil prices picked up 24 cents to $43.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $13.30 to $1,965.60.
