Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of earnings from aluminum producer Alcoa, which kicks off the U.S. corporate earnings season.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 122.77 points to end Monday at 14,270.33. June futures dipped 0.4% Tuesday
The Canadian dollar gained 0.35 cents to 91.50 cents U.S. early Tuesday
The Liberal Party won a majority government in Quebec provincial elections, crushing the separatist Parti Quebecois and eliminating the possibility of a new referendum on independence from Canada for several years.
A federal jury in Florida ruled in favor of BlackBerry in a lawsuit accusing the company of infringing three patents belonging to Dutch semiconductor company NXP BV.
CIBC upped the rating on North American Palladium to sector performer from sector underperform
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on DHX Media to $6.70
In the economic realm, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in February, down 11.6% from January, following an 8.1% gain the previous month. This decrease was mainly driven by lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings throughout the country.
What’s more, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning that housing starts in Canada were trending at 184,476 units in March compared to 191,126 in February – a drop of 3.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plunged 10.19 points Monday to 996.97
ON WALLSTREET
Pre-markets in New York lost their momentum Tuesday and were headed lower, a day after sinking into the red for the year as highly volatile growth stocks took another beating.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials were down 28 points, or 0.2%, to 16,150. Futures for the S&P 500 nicked lower 1.9 points, or 0.1%, to 1,836.20, and futures for the NASDAQ squeezed upward 0.5 points to 3,499.75.
All three major U.S. stock indexes are now negative for the year, following Monday losses.
In corporate news Tuesday, Alcoa will report first-quarter results after the closing bell, the first major company to do so.
European markets were falling, erasing earlier narrow gains, as tensions arose again in Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Kiev on Tuesday that use of force in the eastern region could lead to civil war.
Asian markets were mixed Tuesday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% as the central bank ended a policy meeting without any hint of further economic stimulus.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 1.9%. Chinese markets, which were closed Monday for a holiday, have been supported by hopes the government will take steps to boost faltering growth.
Oil prices eked higher 96 cents to $101.40 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $13.10 at $1,311.40 U.S. an ounce.
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