Canadian stocks looked set to open flat on Thursday, with June futures up only 0.01%.
The S&P/TSX composite index grew 53.36 points to close Wednesday at 15,109.25.
The index reached its highest level in six years on Wednesday and came within striking distance of its all-time high after the U.S. Federal Reserve shed some light on its plans to raise interest rates.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.07 cents to 92.35 cents U.S. early Thursday
BlackBerry reported a narrower than expected adjusted loss even as revenue fell in the midst of the troubled smartphone maker's turnaround push.
Enbridge said on Wednesday its CFO, Richard Bird, would retire at year-end. It also said that its plan to replace the Line 3 oil pipeline carrying Alberta crude oil to the United States will be more expensive than originally estimated, pegging the cost at $7.5 billion.
Quebecor’s new CEO, Pierre Dion, said his company would consider buying small rivals to become a national wireless carrier that reaches most Canadians
Raymond James cut the rating on Cameco Corp to market perform from outperform
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us that those Canadians drawing employment insurance numbered 517,100 in April, up 5,600, or 1.1%, from March. The agency says the number of beneficiaries has been relatively unchanged for almost a year, following a long-term downward trend that began in the summer of 2009.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.74 points Wednesday to 1,008.92
ON WALLSTREET
Futures were somewhat flat early Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen eased the central bank’s bond-buying program.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped two points to 16,816. Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.30 points to 1,949.40, and futures for the NASDAQ poked up 1.75 points to 3,797.50.
Shares in American Apparel rose ahead of the market open. The company announced overnight that it fired its controversial CEO, though it didn't say why. Its shares, which topped $15 U.S. as recently as 2007, now trade for less than $1.00 U.S.
Amazon shares were just slightly higher after the company unveiled the Fire Phone, a high-end, 3-D smartphone. It is the first smartphone Amazon has produced on its own.
Shares in Facebook slipped slightly in pre-market trading after an outage that prevented users posting to the social media site "for a brief period of time."
A number of companies are reporting results Thursday.
BlackBerry shares jumped 9% in pre-market trading, after the Canadian smartphone maker reported a smaller-than-expected loss.
Rite Aid shares jumped. The drugstore chain reported a slump in quarterly net income, compared to the year-earlier quarter.
Kroger is also expected to report earnings before the start of trading. Oracle and Smith & Wesson will report after the close.
Economically, the U.S. Department of Labor will publish weekly jobless claims this morning.
Oil prices gained 30 cents to $106.27 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices took on $9.10 to $1,282.10 U.S. an ounce.
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