Futures linked to Canada's main stock index were flat on Thursday, echoing the caution in U.S. markets, as investors evaluated the reliability of the newly announced U.S.-China trade agreement.
The TSX tumbled 274.90 points to end Wednesday at 30,144.78.
December futures edged higher 0.02%% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.2 cents to 71.52 cents U.S.
On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to roll back some tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Beijing resuming soybean purchases, keeping rare earth exports flowing and cracking down on fentanyl trafficking.
Markets, however, fear the tariff truce may be short-lived, given the history of promising trade talks later derailed by complications.
In a separate development, Trump said on Thursday he had a "very nice" conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney when the two attended a dinner in South Korea amid a heated trade spat between the two neighbours.
Additionally, South Korea and Canada have agreed to form a consultative body for defence industry cooperation.
Canada is due to present its federal budget next week. Economists forecast the government's fiscal deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year will see a massive jump.
In corporate news, Cogeco's fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates on subscriber losses.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada reported the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—was little changed (+3,300; +0.0%) in August, following an increase of 25,600 (+0.1%) in July. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 31,500 (+0.2%) in August 2025.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 12.58 points, or 1.3%, Wednesday to 943.51.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were lower Thursday as investors digested a batch of Big Tech earnings. Losses were kept in check after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials wilted 205 points, or 0.4%, to 47,592.
Futures for the S&P 500 index lost 12.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,910.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ handed back 53.25 points, or 0.2%, to 26,208.75.
Megacap tech giants Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft each reported quarterly results after market close Wednesday. Investors are trying to gauge the pace of spending on AI and the returns companies are getting for this investment.
While Google parent Alphabet shares popped about 6% on the back of strong results, shares of Meta lost 8% and Microsoft tumbled about 2%.
Reactions to the results weighed on the broader market.
Meta recorded its highest revenue growth since the first quarter of 2024, but the social media company said that President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act led it to incur a one-time charge of $15.93 billion.
Meta expects the law will weigh on U.S. federal cash tax payments for the rest of this year and future years. Microsoft shares moved lower after the company said its investment in OpenAI reduced its earnings by $3.1 billion in the quarter. That revelation sparked worries about ongoing AI spending.
Thursday’s losses were mitigated, however, after Trump agreed to cut fentanyl tariffs on China to 10%, while Beijing delayed the latest curb on rare earth exports by a year. “Rare earth issue has been settled,” Trump said.
U.S.-listed rare earth miners rose broadly on the news, with USA Rare Earth and MP Materials gaining 4.5% and 3.3%, respectively.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 eked up 0.04% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng faded 0.2%.
Oil prices retreated 56 cents to $59.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $7.10 to $3,993.60 U.S. per ounce.
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