Futures for Canada's main stock index were slightly higher on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on the next Federal Reserve chair and a likely interest rate hike from the Bank of England.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 3.74 points to finish Wednesday at 16,029.33, improving only slightly on Tuesday’s all-time record.
The Canadian dollar poked up 0.19 cents at 77.6 cents U.S. Thursday morning.
December futures eked up 0.02% Thursday morning.
Cenovus Energy reported a smaller third-quarter loss on Thursday as its purchase of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil-sands assets more than doubled production.
Hudson's Bay Co said on Wednesday it had received a bid for its German department store chain Kaufhof from Signa Holding, the Austrian property and retail group that owns Karstadt, another German retail chain.
CIBC cut the rating on Brookfield Renewable Partners LP to neutral from outperformer
Barclays cut the to underweight from overweight
Barclays raised the price target on Whitecap Resources to $11.00 from $10.00
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Wednesday that while monetary policy decisions will have an effect on the Canadian dollar, oil prices will have the biggest long-term impact on the currency.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 4.64 points Wednesday to 789.34
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open Thursday, as investors geared up for more earnings and awaited any key news concerning the U.S. central bank.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped two points, or 0.01%, to 23,370
S&P 500 futures slipped 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,573.25, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite index gave back one point or 0.02% to 6,239.75.
On Thursday, a fresh cluster of corporate earnings are set to be released during the day.
Alibaba, AutoNation, Ralph Lauren, Teva Pharma, Yum Brands, and Blue Apron all reported quarterly results before the bell.
Meanwhile, after the bell, AIG, Apple, Starbucks, Activision Blizzard, CBS, Western Union, El Pollo Loco and Pandora Media are set to report.
Looking to data, jobless claims, and productivity and costs data are set to be released this morning.
On the central bank front, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee announced that it was maintaining its interest rates at present levels, leaving the door open for a rate hike to occur at its next meeting in December. The decision by the U.S. central bank was widely expected by markets.
Fast forward to today, President Donald Trump is expected to announce his pick for the 2018 head of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Fed Governor Jay Powell has been a recent favorite to take on the position from current Chair Janet Yellen — who's also a key candidate — in early 2018.
Over in Europe, the Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in a decade, lifting them from record lows. The British pound fell sharply against the dollar following the announcement.
Overseas, European stocks were under slight pressure, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 collected another 0.5%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 0.3%
Oil prices were static at $54.30 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.20 to $1,276.10 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
