Canada's main stock index looked set to open lower as weak euro-zone consumer inflation figures overshadowed positive data that showed Japan's economy grew faster than expected.
The S&P/TSX composite index let go of 103.4 points to end Wednesday at 12,473.65, with futures lagging 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.27 cents to 98.14 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Falling prices in Germany and France pulled euro-zone consumer inflation to a three-year low in April while imports fell 10% in March, as new data showed the depth of the bloc's downturn.
BMO cut the target price on Copper Mountain to $2 from $3.50 after first-quarter results, saying the company continues to face challenges in attaining design capacity and working capital remains weak
RBC cut the target price on Glacier Media to $1.75 from $2 following weaker-than-expected first-quarter results
In the economic file today, Statistics Canada reported this morning that folks offshore acquired $1.2 billion of Canadian securities in March, mostly parking their funds in government bonds.
Meanwhile, Canadian investors added $3.8 billion of foreign securities to their holdings, following a $4.3-billion acquisition in February.
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The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 13 points Wednesday to 936.87
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Investors have a lot to chew on Thursday, and a slew of economic reports could influence whether they send U.S. stocks to a new round of record highs.
Futures for the Dow Industrials poked ahead 11 points to 15,246. Futures for the S&P 500 eked up 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,655.80, and futures for the NASDAQ took on seven points, or 0.2%, to 3,008.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and a decrease in same-store sales. The retailer's stock slipped in premarket trading.
Dell and J.C. Penney are up in the afternoon.
Tesla shares rose after the electric-car maker announced it was raising capital to repay its government loan early. CEO Elon Musk plans to personally buy $100 million U.S. worth of stock.
Cisco shares surged after the tech giant topped earnings and sales forecasts.
Japan released data overnight showing that its economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the first three months of 2013. The expansion was much stronger than the 2.7% increase expected by analysts.
Despite the good news, Asian markets ended mixed. The Nikkei 225, dragged lower by disappointing guidance from banks, declined 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite added 1.2% and the Hang Seng increased 0.2%.
Most European markets are mixed in morning trading, though the U.K.'s benchmark FTSE 100 was leading the European indexes with a modest climb.
Economically speaking, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published its monthly report on inflation for April, while the Census Bureau released data on housing starts and building permits.
Also at 8:30 a.m., the government published weekly data on initial jobless claims, and at 10:00 a.m., Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan will release their consumer sentiment index.
Oil prices fell 30 cents to $94.00 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $23.20 to $1,373.00 U.S.
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