Markets in Toronto looked set to extend the previous session's gains on Wednesday after investor confidence got a boost from Tuesday's U.S. housing and consumer confidence data.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day up 20.94 points at 14,299.49, with June futures up 0.2% this morning.
The Canadian dollar crept up 0.22 cents at 89.76 cents U.S. early Wednesday
Blackstone Group is close to a deal to buy industrial conglomerate Gates Global Inc from owners Onex Corp and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for more than $5.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Goldcorp Chairman Ian Telfer said his company would rather walk away from its hostile bid for Osisko Mining Corp than pay too much. Telfer did not, however, rule out a higher bid.
The governing separatist Parti Quebecois would lose next month's Quebec provincial election if it were held now, a poll showed, a casualty of renewed concentration during the campaign on the issue of independence from Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 0.88 points Tuesday to 1,018.26
ON WALLSTREET
Technology firms are in the spotlight again Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials advanced 72 points, or 0.4%, to 16,370. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 7.60 points, or 0.4%, to 1,866.90, and futures for the NASDAQ added 9.25 points, or 0.3%, at 3,633.
Facebook, King Digital Entertainment and International Game Technology are all making waves for different reasons.
Trading volume in Facebook shares could be higher than usual as investors react to the company's $2-billion U.S. acquisition of virtual reality firm Oculus VR. Facebook shares edged higher before the open.
Shares in King, maker of the popular online game Candy Crush Saga, begin trading after its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange was priced at $22.50 U.S. a share, raising nearly $500 million U.S. and valuing the company at about $7.6 billion U.S.
King is one of 14 companies going public this week.
International Game Technology shares fell in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company, which makes casino games, said it is planning to cut 7% of its staff and lowered its earnings guidance for the year. The stock has lost 18% so far this year.
There is little economic news on the docket Wednesday. The main economic release will come from the Census Bureau, which is reporting February data on durable goods orders this morning.
A consensus of economist opinion from Briefing.com shows a forecast of a 1% gain for February, compared to a decline of 1% the month before.
European markets were moving up in morning trading. The biggest gainer was the Dax in Germany, up by just over 1%.
Most Asian markets gained ground Wednesday. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed by 0.7%.
Oil prices pointed up 27 cents to $99.46 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices advanced $3.20 at $1,314.60 U.S. an ounce.
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