Toronto stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Thursday, but gains could be limited by uncertainty over U.S. budget talks, with Republicans set to introduce their 'Plan B'.
The conflict over the stalled "fiscal cliff" talks grew more heated Wednesday and threatened to become even more when the action is expected to shift for the first time to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The S&P/TSX composite index took on 69.29 points to end Wednesday at 12,403.63
The Canadian dollar added 0.06 cents to 101.20 cents U.S. Thursday morning
Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. rejected claims it misled investors about the benefits of an expansion at its plant, which was subsequently destroyed by fire in November.
Canadian Pacific Railway said on Wednesday that a government arbitrator has issued his decision on a new labour deal with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents some 5,000 engineers, conductors and traffic controllers.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose 0.7% in October, stronger than market expectations for a 0.2% gain and September's 0.2% increase
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.52 points to 1,176.52
ON WALLSTREET
Investors' nerves are wearing thin as gridlock continues in the fiscal cliff negotiations.
Futures for the Dow Industrials inched up five points to 13,214. Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 1.8 points, or 0.1%, to 1,431.30, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq added one point to 2,694.
On the corporate front, homebuilder KB Home released quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates, but declined over the past year.
Shares fell about 1.6% in premarket trade. Meanwhile, Rite Aid stock soared nearly 9.7% after the company reported strong earnings.
After the closing bell, struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will announce its quarterly results.
Shares of NYSE Euronext surged 14% in after-hours trading Wednesday on a report that the exchange operator is in talks with rival IntercontinentalExchange Inc "about a possible combination," according to The Wall Street Journal. The $8.2 billion U.S.cash-and-stock deal was confirmed early Thursday. Intercontinental shares fell 4.1% in premarket trade Thursday.
Bed Bath & Beyond shares slipped 4.8% late Wednesday, after the retailer beat expectations with its quarterly earnings but missed on sales and offered weak guidance.
Also late Wednesday, Google announced it will sell its Motorola Mobility Home division, which includes cable set-top boxes and modems, to Arris for $2.35 billion U.S. Arris stock rose about 8.2% in premarket trading, while Google ticked slightly higher.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government released its final estimate of third-quarter GDP growth: a 3.1% annual rate. In other economic news, jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 361,000 in the latest week.
After the opening bell, the National Association of Realtors will publish its monthly report on existing home sales.
Oil prices dipped four cents to $89.94 cents U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell two dollars an ounce to $1,665.70 U.S.
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