Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for equities in Toronto on Thursday, as oil and gold gained following a decline in the U.S. dollar.
The S&P/TSX composite index recovered 97.44 points, to finish Wednesday at 14,739.20
The Canadian dollar moved ahead 0.45 cents to 78.93 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Penn West Petroleum reported a much bigger loss and cut its quarterly dividend for the second time in three months, hurt by lower production and a fall in crude prices.
A union official says about 1,000 construction workers employed by a contractor at Husky Energy's Sunrise oil sands project were laid off unexpectedly on Wednesday.
CIBC raised the price target on Kirkland Lake Gold to $5.25 from $4.50
CIBC raised the price target on Quebecor to $35.00 from $33.00
Raymond James cut the target price on Rocky Mountain Dealerships to $10.50 from $12.50
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index fell 0.1% in January mostly due to lower negotiated selling prices. The agency says this was the first decrease at the national level since July 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked higher 0.13 points Wednesday to 669.63
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are edging up after enduring two consecutive days of losses.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials forged ahead 59 points, or 0.3%, to 17,697. Futures for the S&P 500 added 6.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,046, and futures for the NASDAQ moved up 10.75 points, or 0.3%, to 4,318.25.
Shake Shack shares fell by as much as 7% in extended trading after the company posted a wider quarterly loss than markets expected. This was its first earnings report since the company went public in February.
Shares in Citigroup rose about 3% pre-market after the bank passed the Federal Reserve's latest stress test and announced it was hiking its dividend and buying back shares. The bank failed one of the tests last year.
Meanwhile, shares in Bank of America are slipping by about 1% based on the latest stress test results. BofA didn't fail the tests outright, but due to some "deficiencies," the Fed said it will have to re-submit its plans.
Shares in Alibaba could also be on the move after sources confirmed the Chinese e-commerce giant invested $200 million U.S. in messaging app Snapchat.
Dollar General is reporting ahead of the open, along with two skiing businesses, Vail Resorts and Peak Resorts.
Aeropostale and El Pollo Loco will report after the close.
The U.S. government posts weekly jobless claims this morning. The Census Bureau will post monthly retail sales at the same time.
European markets are mixed in early trading. Asian markets also closed the day with mixed results.
Oil prices gained 43 cents to $48.60 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices improved $6.20 to $1,156.80 U.S. an ounce.
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