Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The S&P/TSX composite index regained 27.98 points to close at 15,510.54, with futures Wednesday down 0.08%.
The Canadian dollar nicked lower 0.02 cents to 91.13 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Endo International Plc made an unsolicited offer to buy Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $2.2 billion, which analysts said could complicate Auxilium's buyout of Canadian eye drug maker QLT Inc .
Pipeline operator TransCanada Corp.’s chief executive said the company is likely to haul Canadian oil sands crude by rail whether or not its embattled Keystone XL pipeline project is finally approved by Washington.
Recent Canadian economic data has been encouraging, particularly on exports, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Tuesday, but he pointed to a substantial amount of slack in the job market.
RBC raises price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. to $10.00 from $9.50
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed negative 5.80 points Tuesday to 975.70.
ON WALLSTREET
Markets were flat in the lead-up to Wednesday’s opening bell, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is the main focus in the markets right now.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped one point to 17,053. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.5 points to 1,991, and futures for the NASDAQ moved lower 4.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,053.50.
Adobe was the main mover in pre-market trading. Shares were declining by about 4% after investors expressed disappointment with the firm's latest set of quarterly results.
In Tokyo, Sony announced after the markets closed that it would lose about $2.1 billion U.S. this year as its smartphone business bleeds.
FedEx and General Mills will report earnings before the opening bell. Pier 1 Imports will report after the close.
Policymakers wrap up their two-day meeting Wednesday and Fed chair Janet Yellen is expected to deliver her remarks about the state of the economy at 2 p.m. ET.
The Fed has been cutting back on its economic stimulus program over the past few months and this is expected to continue. But Fed watchers are mostly interested in how long interest rates will stay at record low levels.
European markets were making broad gains in early trading. However, the FTSE 100 in London was dragging its feet. British markets have been weighed down lately as investors worry that Scotland may break away from the United Kingdom.
Asian markets ended with mixed results.
China's main indexes chalked up gains after it was reported that the central bank pumped about $81 billion U.S. into the banking system to support growth.
Oil prices lurched lower 51 cents to $94.37 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained 50 cents to $1,237.20 U.S. an ounce.
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