Futures for stocks in Canada’s biggest market were set to open lower on Wednesday as crude oil slid after flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Harvey shut nearly a fifth of U.S. refineries.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 30.67 points to close Tuesday at 15,082.70. September futures decreased 0.1% on Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.21 cents to 79.72 cents U.S. Wednesday morning.
Goldman Sachs said refineries with output of 4.1 million barrels per day were offline on Tuesday, representing 23% of U.S. production.
Restarting plants -- even under the best conditions -- can take a week or more.
Kik Interactive, the Ontario-based creator of the global chat platform Kik, valued at $1 billion, said on Tuesday it will launch in two weeks the sale of its own crypto-currency which is expected to raise $125 million.
Citigroup cut the target price on Sunopta Inc. to $10.00 from $11.50
CIBC raised the target price on Bank of Nova Scotia to $87.00 from $85.00
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $974 in June, little changed from the previous month, but up 1.8% compared with 12 months earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 0.11 points Tuesday to 777.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday, as geopolitical concerns surrounding North Korea and the West appeared to show signs of receding.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 19 points, or 0.1%, to 21,893. Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.5 points to 2,447.50. NASDAQ futures took on 10.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,880.
Bob Evans and Brown Forman are among the companies reporting earnings Wednesday.
In the previous day's trade, markets worldwide were on edge following news that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile which had passed over Japan. However, investor nervousness around North Korea appears to have eased.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Harvey continues to cast a shadow over a number of sectors including energy, with oil prices coming under pressure, as refineries continue to be affected by the natural disaster.
Data will be at the forefront of investors' minds on Wednesday, as a whole slew of figures are set to be published.
The ADP National Employment report showed private-sector jobs increased by 237,000 jobs in August, well above the expected 185,000. The ADP report is often used by traders as a preview to the government's monthly jobs report, which is set for release on Friday.
The second estimate for gross domestic product data in the second quarter showed the U.S. economy grew by 3%, more than the expected increase of 2.7%.
In Europe, stocks were trading higher by noon on the continent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7% and the CSI 300 in Shanghai deducted 0.24 points.
Oil prices doffed 41 cents to $46.03 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices docked $5.60 to $1,313.30 U.S. an ounce.
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