Futures for Canada's main stock index edged higher on Wednesday, as oil prices rose on supply concerns after the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's exports.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 84.52 points to end Tuesday at 15,463.14
The Canadian dollar increased 0.25 cents at 75.60 cents U.S. early Wednesday
March futures nosed up 0.1% Wednesday.
Canadian National Railway beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, as it transported higher volumes of crude oil and Canadian grain. Meantime, JP Morgan raised price target on the stock to $119.00 from $116.00
Morgan Stanley cut the price target on Imperial Oil to $42.00 from $51.00
CIBC raised the price target on Metro to $48 from $45.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that average weekly earnings of Canadians in non-farm roles came in at $1.012 in November, little changed from the previous month. The agency adds that, compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange made its way out of the red 0.31 points Tuesday to 615.09
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures promised an exciting opening bell on Wednesday as Boeing and Apple surged on the back of their earnings results.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 233 points, or 1%, to 24,876
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,651.25
NASDAQ futures leaped 61 points, or 0.9%, to 6,699.75
Boeing shares jumped 5.9% after its quarterly earnings easily surpassed expectations. The aerospace giant also posted annual revenue of more than $100 billion for the first time and gave strong earnings guidance for 2019.
Apple also rose more than 5% after reporting a quarterly profit that nicked by estimates. The company’s overall quarterly revenue topped expectations, but iPhone sales for the quarter came in below estimates. The report comes after the company had slashed its revenue guidance earlier this month, citing a slowdown in China.
The results from the Dow members come during the busiest week of the earnings season. By the end of this week, more than 100 S&P 500 companies will have released their quarterly results. So far, 71% of the companies that have reported have surpassed earnings expectations
Investors also looked ahead to a key monetary-policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is largely expected to have kept interest rates unchanged at their latest meeting. However, investors will look for clues regarding the Fed’s plans to roll off its massive balance sheet.
Facebook and Microsoft are scheduled to report after the bell Wednesday. Qualcomm and Tesla are also slated to report.
Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He arriving in Washington to meet U.S. officials on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that he expected the world’s two largest economies to make significant progress toward a comprehensive trade agreement this week.
On the data front, an ADP employment report was released Wednesday, and a pending home sales index is due to be reported at 10 a.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 pitched downward 0.5% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.4%
Oil prices hiked 54 cents to $53.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spiked $1.60 to $1,316.80 U.S. an ounce.
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