Equity markets in Canada’s biggest centre looked set for a lower open on Thursday as the United States entered a third day of a partial government shutdown, with no end in sight.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 8.44 points to finish Wednesday’s trading at 12,839. Futures traded down 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.02 cents to 96.72 cents U.S. early Thursday
Fertilizer giant Agrium Inc said Chief Operating Officer Chuck Magro would take over as CEO from Mike Wilson, who retires on Dec. 31.
The company also said Magro will join Agrium's board immediately.
TransCanada Corp. expects testing on its Keystone XL crude pipeline to be completed in early November and it will begin filling the line for the first time shortly afterwards.
Raymond James raised the rating of Aurico Gold’s U.S. listed shares to outperform from market perform, saying continued de-risking, coupled with a growing valuation divide, presents opportunity.
National Bank Financial raised the rating on Perpetual Energy to outperform from sector perform, says the company is relatively well positioned heading in to the winter, supported by solid catalysts, improving fundamentals and tailwinds from broader corporate themes.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.29 points Wednesday to 943.48
ON WALLSTREET
Investors are braced for another downbeat session on markets Thursday as Washington remains paralyzed and a deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling looms.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 38 points, or 0.3%, to 14,987. Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 2.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1,680.40, and futures for the NASDAQ faded 5.5 points, or 0.2%, to 3,232.
United Technologies dropped more than 2% Wednesday after the defense contractor announced that it would likely furlough 2,000 workers starting next week, thanks to the government shutdown. About 800,000 federal employees have already been furloughed.
With meetings at the White House between congressional leaders and President Obama failing to produce a breakthrough, the federal government shutdown has entered its third day.
More troubling for Wall Street is the risk that the political stalemate could prevent a raising of the debt ceiling, meaning the government may not be able to pay all its bills later this month.
Despite the shutdown, the U.S. was set to release its weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.
Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.9%, buoyed by data that showed China's services sector is continuing to gain strength. Shanghai's exchange remained closed for a holiday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.1% lower.
European markets were mixed at midday as worries about the U.S. countered optimism about China.
Oil prices gave back 11 cents to $103.99 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices backtracked $13.50 to $1,307.20 U.S. an ounce.
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