Canada's main stock index looked set to open slightly lower as investors turn cautious ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the session.
The S&P/TSX index vaulted 143.83 points, or 1.2%, to close Tuesday at 12,456.50, with futures off 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.03 cents to 99.31 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
But shares of Tim Hortons Inc were expected to rise after reports that the coffee-and-doughnut chain has come under pressure from a large investor to aggressively boost returns through debt-funded share buybacks and a scaling back of U.S. expansion plans.
Yamana Gold Inc is aiming to sharply reduce its all-in sustaining costs this year, as it adjusts to a recent drop in bullion prices, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Loblaw Cos Inc reported a 40% rise in first-quarter profit and said it plans to compete in the initial public offering of its real estate investment trust in early to mid-July.
Talisman Energy Inc posted a quarterly loss as the sale of some North Sea assets hurt production but it said it expected significant growth in higher-margin liquids output in the second half of this year and into 2014.
Elsewhere, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd said on Tuesday that first-quarter profit fell by nearly half as operating problems and the oil sands facility lowered production.
Pharmacy whiz Jean Coutu Group Inc .reported a 7% fall in revenue due to reductions in the prices of generic drugs and an additional reporting week in the year-earlier quarter.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed higher Tuesday by 0.87 points to 965.80
ON WALLSTREET
The question facing investors on Wall Street Wednesday is whether the bulls have any more room to run, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high and the NASDAQ finished at its highest level in more than 12 years.
Futures for the Dow Industrials gathered five points to 14,778. Futures for the S&P 500 docked 0.4 points to 1,591.80, and futures for the NASDAQ gained four points, or 0.1%, to 2,884.
Both indexes clocked their sixth straight monthly gain in April -- the best streak since the bull market began in March 2009.
While U.S. stock futures held onto slight gains ahead of the opening bell, there's no signal that it will be a booming Wednesday in the markets.
In corporate news, Time Warner reported a dip in first quarter sales but an jump in profit, propelled by "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," a box office hit surpassing $1 billion U.S.
Genworth Financial's stock price surged in pre-market trading after the company said that its quarterly profit more than doubled.
Comcast reported an increase in profit and revenue, which the company attributed to the success of video and high-speed internet subscriptions.
The stock price for MasterCard slipped ahead of the bell, despite reporting a quarterly increase in sales and profit.
Facebook is up in the afternoon. Major automakers will also release monthly sales figures.
Apple's stock price edged up slightly, after jumping in the Tuesday session following its record $17-billion U.S. bond sale.
Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee to wrap up its two-day meeting for a signal as to how long it will continue its aggressive monetary policies. The market is widely expecting that it will continue to buy bonds to support the U.S. economy.
Investors will also look Wednesday to a handful of economic reports that come ahead of the government's monthly jobs data due Friday.
Payroll processor ADP published its monthly data on private-sector jobs, showing that only 119,000 jobs were added in April, which was below forecasts.
Also, the Federal Reserve will release data on construction spending at 10 a.m. ET.
Most European markets are closed for a holiday, but the U.K. remains open and its benchmark index, the FTSE 100, is pushing ahead with some modest gains.
Exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed. The Chinese government reported disappointing manufacturing numbers for the month of April, with purchasing managers indicating a slowdown in growth.
Oil prices slipped $1.61 to $91.85 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices tailed off $5.20 to $1,466.90 U.S.
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