Futures on Canada’s biggest stock index pointed to a higher open on Wednesday on hopes that the U.S. politicians will soon strike a deal to prevent the world's largest economy from defaulting on its debt.
The S&P/TSX composite index was positive 39.35 points to end Tuesday at 12,931.46. Futures Wednesday moved higher by 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents to 96.43 cents U.S. early Wednesday
SNC-Lavalin Group Ltd. slashed its full-year profit forecast after it took a nearly $75-million charge due to previously signed contracts in North Africa and in the hospital and road sectors that turned unprofitable.
Kinross Gold Corp. will keep its main expansion in Mauritania on hold to 2015, no matter how far the gold price rises, as it plans to save rather than spend for now, its CEO Paul Rollinson told the media.
Continental Resources Inc said it would be open to talks with TransCanada Corp. on its Keystone XL pipeline project, dealing with its carrying a greater amount of domestic U.S. oil instead of Canadian crude.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales moved down 0.2% in August to $49.5 billion, following three straight months of gains. Market call was for a rise of 0.2% during the month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.24 points to end Tuesday at 929.13
ON WALLSTREET
Markets are set for a choppy Wednesday with investors and traders on edge as they wait for Washington to strike a last-minute deal to avoid a debt debacle that would see the country unable to pay all its bills.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 67 points, or 0.4%, to 15,162. Futures for the S&P 500 took on 7.2 points, or 0.4%, to 1,669.20, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 9.25 points, or 0.3%, to 3,250.
Investors remain cautious as they wait to see if lawmakers will come to an agreement before Thursday's debt ceiling deadline. A failure to reach an agreement could trigger a default on U.S. debt and chaos in global markets.
Rating agency Fitch put the U.S. on notice Tuesday afternoon, warning it could downgrade America's AAA credit rating, citing the "political brinkmanship" on display in Washington.
There were also earnings results to parse through Wednesday.
Shares in Bank of America were edging up ahead of the opening bell after the firm reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Mattel shares were spiking by roughly 5% in premarket trading after the Barbie manufacturer reported first quarter results that beat analyst estimates for revenue and profits.
Meanwhile, other firms including BlackRock and PepsiCo are due to release quarterly results before the opening bell. American Express, IBM and eBay are set to report after-hours.
After the bell Tuesday, Twitter announced plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
Intel shares slipped in pre-market trading after the chipmaker issued a pessimistic outlook for the rest of 2013 and lowered its profit forecast in its after-hours earnings report Tuesday.
European markets were under pressure in morning trading as investors around the world fret about the political mess in Washington.
Asian markets ended with mixed results, as investors adopted a wait-and-see mentality.
Oil prices faded seven cents to $101.14 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices chugged ahead five dollars to $1,278.20 U.S. an ounce.
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