Canada's main stock index looked set to open lower on Wednesday as market concerns that the Federal Reserve might end its monetary easing policy offset data that showed euro-zone business activity eased at a slightly slower pace in May.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index erased 15.83 points to end Tuesday at 12,593.97, with futures down 0.4% this morning.
The Canadian dollar nudged up 0.02 cents to 96.72 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
RBC raised the target price on Dollarama Inc to $81 from $76, expects strong underlying trends to be offset by weather-related disruptions due to traffic when the company reports its first-quarter results
RBC also cut the target price on EXFO Inc to $5.25 from $6, says preliminary results are disappointing, particularly following the prior two quarters of improvement
Speaking of things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canadian municipalities issued building permits worth $7.0 billion dollars in April, up 10.5% from March. The advance in April was the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 10.16 points Tuesday to 958.90
ON WALLSTREET
Market sentiment was weighed down early Wednesday by persistent concerns over when the Federal Reserve will start tapering off its bond buying program.
Futures for the Dow Industrials slid 54 points, or 0.4%, to 15,125. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 4.7 points, or 0.3%, to 1,626.50, and futures for the NASDAQ dipped 13.75 points, or 0.5%, to 2,961
Payroll-processor ADP said the private sector added 135,000 jobs in May. The figure was lower than expected, which may keep investors on edge since the ADP report is typically considered a prelude to the U.S. government's closely watched monthly jobs report.
That report is due before the bell Friday.
The U.S. Labor Department will release a revised estimate of first-quarter productivity and labor costs this morning, and the Census Bureau will release a report on factory orders later on.
At 2 p.m. ET, the U.S. Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report, an analysis of regional economic activity.
Economic data was also released in Europe. A second estimate of first quarter GDP confirmed that the euro-zone economy contracted by 0.2%.
Apple shares slipped in pre-market trading after the International Trade Commission ruled that several older Apple products violate a Samsung patent and can't be sold within the United States.
Shares of Toyota fell more than 2% after the automaker recalled nearly a quarter million hybrids to fix brakes.
European markets were in the red in morning trading. London's FTSE 100 and Frankfurt's DAX tanked by more than 1%, while the CAC 40 in Paris fell about 1%.
Investors were unimpressed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unveiling of new "Abenomics" growth policies, leading the Nikkei 225 index to tumble by nearly 4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1% and the Shanghai Composite Index declined by 0.4%
Oil prices gained 48 cents to $93.79 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added 80 cents to $1,398 U.S.
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