Stock futures on Wednesday pointed to a lower open in Toronto with investors cautiously awaiting the possibility of a further taper of the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained back 105.37 points to close Tuesday at 13,687.66, with futures off 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.02 cents to 89.69 cents U.S. early Wednesday
Canadian Pacific Railway reported a five-fold jump in fourth-quarter profit, as freight revenue rose 7%.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Bell Aliant to $26 from $27 on reduced EBITDA forecasts due to pricing pressures
Nomura cut the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $19 from $20, attributable to the company's Cobre Panama project review coming in worse than expected with higher capex and a two-year delay
CIBC raised the price target on Metro Inc. to $70 from $69, saying the grocer's first-quarter results were better than expected, sees it increasing prices to drive sales
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 6.88 points to end Tuesday at 958.63
ON WALLSTREET
Central banks are in the spotlight Wednesday as investors anticipate the U.S. Federal Reserve may announce further cuts to its stimulus, and emerging markets stabilize following rate hikes in Turkey and India.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 36 points, or 0.2%, to 15,840. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 5.3 points, or 0.3%, to 1,783, but futures for the NASDAQ faded eight points, or 0.2% to 3,493.
Earnings will also be top-of-mind for investors Wednesday.
Dow Chemical reported better-than-expected earnings and sales, raised its dividend 15% and boosted its share buyback program to $4.5 billion U.S.
Boeing and Jetblue are also set to report quarterly results before the opening bell. Facebook is up in the afternon.
Yahoo shares sank following weak quarterly earnings and sales results.
Shares of Electronic Arts were higher as investors shrugged off a weak outlook to focus on the earnings and revenue beat.
AT&T was in the red after the telecom firm reported earnings that beat forecast, while issuing an underwhelming outlook.
Turkey's central bank increased rates by much more than expected, following a sweeping selloff in emerging markets. India's central bank also surprised investors Tuesday by raising a key interest rate to 8%.
The Fed will announce its latest policy moves at 2 p.m. ET. It is widely expected to announce a further pullback in its bond-buying program, which has helped stimulate growth.
European markets trimmed earlier gains but were still in positive territory, while Asian markets closed with broad-based gains.
Oil prices slid 11 cents to $97.30 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $10.10 to $1,260.90 U.S. an ounce.
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