Investors were hoping for a spark Thursday, after a generally negative Wednesday in Toronto
The S&P/TSX composite index were negative 41.67 points to close Wednesday at 15,304.77
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.12 cents to 81.80 cents U.S. early Thursday.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported that those on employment insurance rose by 9,900, or 2%, in February to 509.800. The agency adds that, compared with 12 months earlier, the number of beneficiaries was down 0.7% or 3,500.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 2.62 points Wednesday to 697.55
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are dipping down ahead of the open.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 42 points, or 0.2%, to 17,903. Futures for the S&P 500 shed 4.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,096, and futures for the NASDAQ slipped 5.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,439.50
PepsiCo, Domino's Pizza, Dunkin' Brands, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Hershey, P&G, General Motors, United Continental and Southwest Air are just a few of the big names reporting ahead of the open.
Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Starbucks will report after the close.
Shares in eBay are expected to jump at the open after the company reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations.
On the flip side of the coin, shares in Facebook, Qualcomm, Las Vegas Sands and Texas Instruments all fell in extended trading as investors expressed disappointment with their latest quarterly results.
Ericsson shares are falling 8% in European trading after the telecoms equipment company reported a sharp fall in profits.
Shares in Deutsche Bank could be on the move as it's widely reported that authorities in the U.S. and U.K. will fine the bank more than $2 billion U.S. for Libor manipulation. The bank paid more than €700 million in 2013 to settle similar European charges.
The U.S. Department of Labor will report weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m.
At 10 a.m., the Census Bureau will release data on new home sales in March.
Oil prices gained 31 cents to $56.47 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices picked up $2.70 to $1,189.60 U.S. an ounce.
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