Futures for Canada's main stock index were trading flat on Thursday ahead of a slew of corporate earnings, with energy shares coming under pressure from lower oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 132.78 points to conclude the session Wednesday and the month of October at 15,027.28
The Canadian dollar popped 0.35 cents to 76.35 U.S. early Thursday
December futures crept up 0.02% Thursday
Encana said it would buy Newfield Exploration for $5.5 billion, for greater access to North America's biggest oil patches and making it one of the largest shale oil producers in the region.
Canadian Natural Resources’ quarterly profit more than doubled and beat analysts' estimates, helped by higher production and average realized prices.
Suncor Energy reported a higher third-quarter profit on Wednesday on better oil prices and increased refinery margins, along with higher sales and output.
National Bank of Canada started coverage on BSR REIT with an outperform rating
CIBC cut the rating on Maxar Technologies to neutral from outperform
CIBC cut the target price on Roots Corp. to $7.00 from $10.00
On the economic beat, IHS Markit Canada is out Thursday with its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 13.9 points, or 2.2%, Wednesday to 641.36
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher start Thursday as Wall Street continued to pare steep losses from last month, led by stronger-than-expected earnings from DowDuPont.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 106 points, or 0.4%, to 25,183
S&P futures gained 9.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,720.75, while the NASDAQ Composite heightened 15.75 points, or 0.2%, to 6,991.25
The S&P 500 dipped 6.9% in October, for its biggest one-month loss since September 2011, when it fell 7.2%.
The Dow lost 5.1% in October to post its largest monthly decline since January 2016, when it dropped 5.5%.
The NASDAQ plunged 9.2% last month, for its worst month since November 2008, when it plunged 10.8%.
On Thursday morning, sentiment was lifted by better-than-forecast earnings from DowDuPont and Cigna. Shares of DowDuPont rose 3.6% in the pre-market while Cigna remained unchanged.
Tech giant Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the bell Thursday. The company's stock rose more than 0.5% in pre-market trading.
Meanwhile, investors continue to keep their focus on corporate earnings and data. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims and productivity are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by a PMI manufacturing index at 9:45 a.m. ET and the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index and construction spending at 10 a.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 backpedaled 1.1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index sprang up 1.8%.
Oil prices sank 30 cents to $65.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices soared $14.50 to $1,229.50 U.S. an ounce.
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