Futures for equities in Canada's largest market were unchanged on Tuesday as worries over the short-term economic impact of rising coronavirus cases worldwide overshadowed optimism around positive data from a late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial.
The TSX ended Monday up 193.03 points, or 1.2%, to 16,475.86.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.12 cents Tuesday at 76.74 cents U.S.
December futures were flat Tuesday.
Premium Brands Holdings and a coalition of Mi'kmaq First Nations said on Monday they would buy Clearwater Seafoods, one of the largest shellfish distributors in the country, in a deal valued at about $1 billion, including debt.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 6.69 points to 735.60.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial average was set to build on its big Monday rally, while big technology stocks were headed for another loss as positive vaccine news sparks a market rotation out of names that thrived during the pandemic into stocks linked to an economic recovery.
Futures for the Dow climbed 205 points, or 0.7%, to 29,253.
Futures for the S&P 500 slumped 6.5 points, or 0.2%, at 3,536.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite faltered 185 points, or 1.6%, to 11,635.50, amid the ongoing investor rotation.
The NASDAQ fell 1.5% Monday, as investors dumped some of the popular stay-at-home plays such as Amazon, Zoom Video and Netflix. The index finished Monday’s session near its session low.
Amazon shares were down another 2% in pre-market trading Tuesday after falling 5% on Monday. Zoom dropped 17% on Monday and traded 2% lower in the pre-market Tuesday. Netflix dipped 0.6% after dropping 8% Monday.
U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech announced Monday their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.
The news sent travel stocks soaring as the’ recovery of these companies depends on a successful economic reopening. American Airlines, Delta and United all jumped more than 15%, while Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean surged more than 25% each.
United was up another 2% in pre-market trading Tuesday. Carnival was up another 6%.
Pfizer’s big vaccine news came as the U.S. topped 10 million cases of Covid-19, a bleak milestone just 10 days after reaching the nine million mark amid a record surge in daily infections. Many on Wall Street believe a viable vaccine would be crucial for the economy on its road to a full recovery.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index poked ahead 0.3%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 1.1%.
Oil prices picked 39 cents to $40.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $23.00 to $1,877.40.
