Futures pointed to a higher opening for markets in Canada’s largest centre Thursday, ahead of the annual gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 78.2 points Wednesday to 15,063.16. September futures subsided 0.2% on Thursday morning.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.11 cents to 79.8 cents U.S. Thursday morning.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported third-quarter earnings ahead of market expectations, with a strong performance from its retail business offsetting a weaker showing at its investment banking division.
The National Energy Board said a review of TransCanada Corp's proposed Energy East pipeline will consider its indirect greenhouse gas contributions, expanding the scope of the assessment.
Barclays raised the target price on Royal Bank of Canada by 2% to $96.00
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that those Canadian drawing regular employment insurance benefits totaled 517,200 in June, down 7,000, or 1.3%, from May. This was the eighth consecutive monthly decline in the number of beneficiaries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 1.07 points to 765.35.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Thursday, as investors tried to shake off concerns surrounding the U.S. administration and switched focus to the monetary policy symposium at Jackson Hole.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 48 points, or 0.2%, to 21,843. Futures for the S&P 500 popped 4.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,445.75. NASDAQ futures picked up 15 points, or 0.3%, to 5,863
Over the three-day event, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both set to speak, with investors watching the event closely for any indications when it comes to monetary policy outlook.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George told reporters on Thursday that the economy was strong enough to handle more rate hikes, despite recent readings of weak inflation.
Looking to politics, earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump said he'd be willing to go as far as letting the government shut down, at a rally on Tuesday night, if he wasn't able to have his border wall with Mexico funded.
In data news, jobless claims are set to be released this morning followed by existing home sales and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4% and the CSI 300 in Shanghai slipped 0.6%
Oil prices faded 25 cents to $48.16 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices fell $1.60 to $1,293.10 U.S. an ounce.
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