Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as investors await guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve when it wraps up a two-day policy meeting later in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index vaulted 155.25 points, or 1.1%, to close Tuesday at 14,624.25. December futures Wednesday listed lower by 0.05%.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.18 cents to 89.72 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Teck Resources Ltd reported a 68.5% drop in quarterly earnings, hurt by lower prices for steelmaking coal and a fall in copper production.
Oil sands producer MEG Energy Corp reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and operating profit due to lower realized prices for bitumen and higher operating costs.
Royal Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it pulled out of and forfeited fees in the Alibaba initial public offering, after an employee commented on the deal during the quiet period before the world's largest IPO.
The economic spotlight shines on two items this morning: wholesale inflation, in the form of the industrial product price index, eased 0.4% in September, mainly due to lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
Elsewhere, the raw materials price index gave back 1.8% in September, largely as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 2.33 points Tuesday to 788.02.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures were iffy in the minutes leading up to Wednesday’s opening bell, on this, the day that the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to close off its stimulus program.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped two points to 16,934. Futures for the S&P 500 fell three points, or 0.2%, to 1,977, and futures for the NASDAQ hesitated 11.25 points, or 0.3%, to 4,082.75.
Shares in Facebook are off by about 7% pre-market after executives revealed plans to ramp up spending next year. Expenses in 2015 are expected to rise by as much as 75% versus the current year, which is irking investors.
Pre-market data shows Facebook's fall is dragging down the NASDAQ.
Hershey, Hyatt Hotels and SodaStream are among the key companies reporting quarterly results before the opening bell.
Visa, Baidu, Weight Watchers and Kraft Foods will report after the close.
The Fed is expected to announce the conclusion of its massive stimulus program this afternoon. The quantitative easing program, which lasted for six years, is widely credited with supporting the economy and driving investors back into stocks in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
In addition to the expected stimulus announcement, the Fed is also set to give more details about plans for interest rates at 2 p.m. ET.
Most investors believe the first rate hike won't occur before June 2015, and many are betting it won't happen until the end of next year or later.
Major European markets are edging up in early trading.
Shares in the health-care firm Sanofi were dropping by about 4% in Paris after the company announced it was booting out its CEO, Christopher Viehbacher.
Asian markets mostly ended with gains. The Shanghai Composite index led the pack with a 1.5% jump.
Oil prices eked higher 77 cents to $82.19 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices stepped back $1.80 to $1,227.60 U.S. an ounce.
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