Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index before a congressional testimony by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen and a Greek parliament vote on the terms of a third bailout.
The Bank of Canada's rate decision and manufacturing sales data are on the economic radar.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 66.18 points, to close Tuesday at 14,599.40
The Canadian dollar faded 0.05 cents to 78.50 cents U.S. early Wednesday
CI Financial Corp wants to expand its small presence in the fiercely competitive U.S. market with acquisitions worth $500 million to $1 billion, its top executive said. Chief Executive Stephen MacPhail also said that the Toronto-based firm, which manages assets worth $109 billion now, targets $150 billion in assets under management over the next three to five years
CIBC raised the target price on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $64 from $55 as the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that showed good progress on all fronts
Canaccord Genuity raises target price on Theratechnologies Inc. to $2.80 from $1.70 as the company reported second-quarter results that were largely in line with expectations.
Corus Entertainment Inc reports earnings today, and expects Q3 earnings of 49 cents per share.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada came out with its monthly survey of manufacturing, which revealed that sales edged up 0.1% in May, while constant dollar sales fell 0.5%, indicating a lower volume of goods sold..
Meanwhile, the Canadian Real Estate Association was due out this morning with June national home sales activity.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.63 points to close Tuesday at 645.09
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are ticking higher after China released GDP figures, and Greece prepares to hold crucial vote on its latest bailout.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials inched up three points to 17,964, futures for the S&P 500 eked up 0.75 to 2,102.75, and futures for the NASDAQ hiked 7.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,525.25
It's a busy day for earnings. Bank of America and Delta will report ahead of the open along with Blackrock Computer chip maker Intel and Netflix report quarterly earnings after the close. Netflix shares were rising 2.4% pre-market.
On the economic front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics updates its producer price index with June numbers. Numbers on June industrial production will also release this morning.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will deliver her semi-annual testimony before Congress at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The world's second largest economy grew at a slightly faster pace than expected in the second quarter. Official figures out Wednesday put GDP at 7%, in line with the previous quarter, and Beijing's growth target for the full year.
Growth has slowed considerably from the breakneck pace of previous years, and it's expected to drop further through to 2016.
The positive quarterly numbers didn't stop falls on China's stock markets. The Shanghai Composite resumed its recent slide to close down 3%.
Greek lawmakers will vote to ratify tough economic reforms on Wednesday needed to secure Europe's latest offer of $96 billion to bailout the country.
But the International Monetary Fund, one of Greece's major creditors, has warned on the viability of the bailout. The IMF said Tuesday that the country's debt has become "highly unsustainable," and it needs more debt relief than Europe has so far been willing to consider.
Oil prices fell 41 cents to $52.63 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid 20 cents at $1,153.30 U.S. an ounce.
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