Stock futures pointed to a near-flat open for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as investors were cautious ahead of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee due later in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 12.90 points to close Tuesday at 15,121.02, with June futures eking up 0.01% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar increased 0.17 cents to 81.93 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Talisman Energy, purchased by Spain's Repsol REP.MC this month, drilled a dry well north of the Varg field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Wednesday.
The bidding for Metro AG's department store chain Kaufhof is heating up, with the owner of rival Karstadt making a new takeover offer and talks with Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay continuing, according to sources
Raymond James raised the price target on Altius Minerals to $17.00 from $16.00
Cowen and Company raised the price target on Ensign Energy Services to $13 from $11
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales rose 0.8% to $53.9 billion in March after two consecutive monthly declines. Higher sales were recorded in five of seven subsectors, accounting for 66% of total wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.32 points Tuesday to 694.99
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are looking soft ahead of the open, but this comes a day after the Dow Jones industrial average eked out a minor gain to close at a new record high.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 10 points, or 0.1%, to 18,294, futures for the S&P 500 peeked up 0.25 points to 2,124.75, and futures for the NASDAQ added 4.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,505.50
Shares in Yahoo are posting a modest 3% rebound pre-market after they tanked by about 8% late Tuesday.
Investors hit the “sell” button on concerns that the company would be hit by new tax rules when it spins off its stake in Alibaba. But the tech giant has reportedly issued a statement saying it will not be affected by any IRS tax rule changes.
Shares in Etsy are down by roughly 17% pre-market after the company reported a big quarterly loss. It was the company's first earnings report since its IPO.
Target, Staples and American Eagle Outfitters are reporting ahead of the open.
Salesforce.com, Williams-Sonoma and the owner of Victoria's Secret, L Brands, will report after the close.
The Federal Reserve will publish the minutes from its latest policy meeting at 2 p.m. ET
Shares in Japanese auto parts maker Takata dropped by just over 10% in Tokyo after it was revealed the company will nearly double the size of its recall for faulty airbags. The recall affects 34 million autos, a record for the industry.
Trading in solar equipment manufacturer Hanergy was suspended in Hong Kong after the stock dropped by 47% in a single day. Investors were running for the doors after finding out that the chairman, who is also the firm's biggest shareholder, missed the company's annual meeting.
Oil prices took on 58 cents to $58.57 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added $1.60 to $1,208.30 U.S. an ounce.
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