Futures pointed to a near-flat opening for Canada's main stock index, while U.S. stock index futures edged higher ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's policy statement later in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished Tuesday off three points to 14,753.05
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.14 cents to 81.23 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Calfrac Well Services halved its quarterly dividend to 6.25 cents per share, citing lower crude oil prices and weak demand for oilfield services. The board had also approved additional 2015 capital of about $12 million to fund the expansion of Calfrac's Latin American operations, the company said.
Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday that Ivanhoe Mines’ sale of a stake in the Kamoa copper mine to China's Zijin Mining should be suspended until concerns raised by the government can be resolved. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe announced last month that it would sell a 49.5% stake in Ivanhoe subsidiary Kamoa Holding Ltd to China's Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd for $412 million.
CIBC raised the target price on Sun Life Financial to $44.00 from $43.00 after the company announced that it would be acquiring the Canadian and U.S. investment management and real estate services businesses of Bentall Kennedy.
RBC raised the target price on Yellow Pages Ltd. to $25.00 from $24.00 following the company's announced acquisition of ComFree/DuProprio.
CIBC initiated coverage on GDI Integrated Facility Services with an outperform rating saying that the company is a janitorial service provider with a growing complimentary services offering.
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales rose 1.9% to $55.2 billion in April, a second consecutive increase. The agency says sales were up in four of seven sub-sectors, led by the motor vehicle and parts sub-sector. Excluding this sub-sector, wholesale sales increased 0.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 0.36 points Tuesday to 678.75. .
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are edging up and international markets are relatively steady, following days of volatility.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials took on 14 points, or 0.1%, to 17,840, futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.75 points, to 2,089.75, and futures for the NASDAQ subtracted 1.5 points to 4,450.25.
Shares in Adobe are dipping pre-market based on concerns about the company's profitability in the coming months. The company reported record quarterly revenue on Tuesday.
Shares in Coty could be on the move again Wednesday after the stock surged by nearly 20% Tuesday. The beauty brand, which owns a range of name-brand fragrances, is reportedly looking to pay $12 billion U.S. for new brands from Procter & Gamble, including Olay.
FedEx is reporting ahead of the open.
Oracle and Pier 1 Imports are reporting after the close.
European markets are relatively steady in early trading. Asian markets mostly closed in positive territory.
The Federal Reserve is in the spotlight again. It will announce its interest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a news conference with Fed Chair Janet Yellen at 2.30 pm.
Yellen has hinted the Fed will raise rates at some point later this year. Most experts do not expect a rate hike yet, but they'll be listening carefully for more clues about the timing of the first rise in almost a decade.
Across the pond, investors are keeping a close eye on Greece's debt saga, as well as reviewing the latest data on euro-zone inflation. Prices across the region rose 0.3% in May -- the first rise this year.
Oil prices gained $1.04 cents to $61.01 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slumped $2.70 at $1,178.20 U.S. an ounce.
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