Canada's main stock index futures rose on Wednesday as oil prices received a boost from a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. inventories, while news of easing lockdowns from across the world also offered support.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 156.18 points, or 1.1%, to conclude Tuesday at 14,798.29.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.29 cents early Wednesday to 71.72 cents U.S.
June futures climbed 1.1% Wednesday.
Cenovus Energy swung to a quarterly loss, hurt by a significant decline in global demand for crude oil caused by the coronavirus outbreak and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Loblaw Cos reported a 10.7% rise in quarterly revenue, as consumers spent more on essentials at its pharmacies and food stores amid the coronavirus-led lockdown.
China's Zijin Mining has warned Papua New Guinea that its failure to renew the lease of a gold mine it jointly owns with Barrick Gold there could damage bilateral relations.
RBC cut the rating on Bombardier to sector perform from outperform
CIBC cut the rating on Extendicare to neutral from outperform.
Citigroup raised the rating on Imperial Oil to neutral from sell
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 0.47 points Tuesday to 470.89.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose Wednesday, led by a sharp gain in Google-parent Alphabet, as investors looked for guidance from the Federal Reserve on the future path of interest rates with a gradual reopening of the economy in sight.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials jumped 133 points, or 0.6%, early Wednesday to 24,178.
Futures for the S&P 500 acquired 13.5 points, or 0.5%, at 2,880.75
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite picked up 55.75 points, or 0.6%, to 8,775.50.
Alphabet shares gained 7.7% in the pre-market after the tech giant reported a revenue growth decline that was less steep than forecast. The company’s YouTube ad revenues also beat expectations.
Those gains lifted sentiment around other mega-cap tech stocks such as Facebook, which climber 3.8% before the bell. Amazon gained 1.5% while Apple and Netflix were both up at least 0.5%.
Meanwhile, earnings season remains in focus with Boeing reporting its first-quarter results before the opening bell on Wednesday. Facebook, Tesla, and Microsoft are set to drop earnings after the bell.
All eyes will be on the Fed’s monetary policy decision at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. Investors will look to the central bank’s statement and chairman Jerome Powell’s virtual press conference for clues about how long interest rates will stay near zero as the economy seeks to emerge from coronavirus crisis.
Another big market catalyst will be a reading on U.S. gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones forecast the U.S. economy shrank by 3.5% in the first quarter as the pandemic disrupted economic activities. U.S. GDP grew by 2.1% in the fourth quarter.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index eked up 0.3%. Markets in Japan were closed for holiday.
Oil prices jumped $1.99 to $14.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced 40 cents to $1,722.60 U.S. an ounce.
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