Canadian stocks looked set to open flat to slightly lower on Thursday
The S&P/TSX composite index gave back 6.08 points to conclude trading Wednesday at 14,673.73, with futures down 0.07% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar galloped ahead 0.17 cents to 92.01 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Air Canada reported a bigger first-quarter loss, mainly due to foreign exchange losses of $161 million and harsh winter weather.
Bank of Nova Scotia said on Wednesday it will explore options to divest itself of some or all of its 37% stake in asset manager CI Financial and reuse the capital elsewhere.
BMO raised the rating on Bear Creek Mining to outperform from market perform
On the economic front, Finance Minister Joe Oliver says the Harper government says it will consider allocating some of its projected budget surplus to paying down debt
Elsewhere, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales in this country edged up 0.4% to $50.9 billion in March, the sixth advance in seven months.
The nation’s number crunchers say the rise mostly reflected higher sales in the food, machinery, and plastics and rubber products industries. However, these increases were largely offset by declines in the paper, and petroleum and coal products industries.
Lastly, MLS sales for April were also due out this morning from Canadian Real Estate Association.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was higher 3.79 points Wednesday to 992.14
ON WALLSTREET
Wall Street has been looking closely at quarterly results from big retailers, especially Wal-Mart. And they don't like what they see.
The world's largest retailer reported first-quarter earnings and sales, and second-quarter forecasts that fell short of estimates. Shares of the Dow component slipped in pre-market trading.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 32 points, or 0.2%, to 16,555. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 3.4 points, or 0.2%, at 1,881.90, and futures for the NASDAQ added three points to 3,599.25
The company blamed several factors, including bad weather and a delay in tax refunds caused by last fall's government shutdown.
Retailer Kohl's will also report before the open, while J.C. Penney and Nordstrom will report after the close.
The main pre-market mover was Cisco Systems. Shares were spiking by roughly 7% after the firm reported earnings that beat expectations.
The fast-food industry is also in the spotlight Thursday as workers plan demonstrations in 150 cities around the world to protest low wages.
On the economic front, the U.S. government will publish weekly jobless claims. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its latest consumer price index information.
European markets were edging down in midday trading after mixed economic data from the euro-zone.
Asian markets had a mixed day. The Shanghai Composite index was the biggest mover among the main global indexes, dropping by 1.1%.
Investors in Japan pushed the Nikkei 225 lower, shrugging off an impressive report on strong economic growth in the first quarter
Oil prices fell 40 cents to $101.97 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices doffed 60 cents to $1,305.70 U.S. an ounce.
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