Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as investors turned cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 93.48 points to end Monday at 12,816.88, with futures down 0.2%
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.11 cents to 96.98 cents U.S. early Tuesday
Encana Corp. has shut 397 out of 1,241 wells in the Denver-Julesburg basin, Colorado, as a result of recent flooding in the state, a company spokesman said on Monday.
Hudson's Bay Co. said on Monday that Harrods executive Marigay McKee will become president of Saks Inc after it acquires the upscale U.S. department store operator.
On the economic slate this morning, Statistics Canada reported that July manufacturing sales rose 1.7% to $49.5 billion in July. The market call was for a gain of only 0.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backslid 2.09 points Monday to 939.41
ON WALLSTREET
Markets south of the border are in a cautious mood Tuesday as investors focus on a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could decide to trim its quantitative easing program.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped two points to 15,429. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.1 points to 1,692.50, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 1.5 points at 3,162.50
The Fed has been pumping liquidity into the system by buying bonds and other securities worth $85 billion U.S. per month, providing support to markets around the world. Investors are concerned about the impact that scaling back this massive program will have on stocks and bond yields.
An announcement on so-called tapering could be made Wednesday.
Investors are also waiting on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which will release the August edition of its Consumer Price Index. This is the government's key metric for inflation and it's expected to have notched up 0.2% last month, according to a Briefing.com consensus.
Also this morning, the Treasury Department will release its monthly report on international capital flows.
In corporate news, Adobe Systems is scheduled to report quarterly results after the closing bell.
All major European markets were weaker in morning trading, in part in response to a fall in European monthly car sales in August. Shares in Fiat and Volkswagen were down by roughly 1%.
Asian markets were mostly heading lower Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite index leading the way with a 2% drop.
Oil prices fell 52 cents to $106.06 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $4.20 to $1,322 U.S. an ounce.
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