Futures for Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index rose on Thursday, tracking gains in both oil and gold prices, with upbeat corporate earnings by Canadian Natural Resources further lifting sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite index surged 95.09 points to conclude Wednesday’s session at 21,265.10
The Canadian dollar shed 0.33 cents to 80.83 cents U.S.
December futures gained 0.2% Thursday.
Canadian Natural Resources reported a third-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates, helped by a recovery in oil demand and higher output, and the company said it would increase its dividend.
Barrick Gold reported on Thursday an 18% drop in third-quarter profit from the second, weighed down by weaker gold and copper prices.
TD Securities cut the rating on Acuityads Holdings to hold from buy.
ATB Capital Markets cut the target price on AG Growth International to $52.00 from $58.00
ATB then raised the target price on NFI Group to $38.00 from $34.00.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada was to come out with International Merchandise Trade figures for September. Details were not available at press time.
The United States, Canada and 18 other countries committed at the COP26 climate summit on Thursday to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, and steer their spending into clean energy instead.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 8.51 points Wednesday to 984.27.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were flat during early morning trading on Thursday after the major averages closed at records following commentary from the Federal Reserve in the prior session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials took on 17 points to 36,052.
Futures for the S&P 500 squeezed nine points, or 0.2%, to 4,661.25
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index advanced 65.75 points, or 0.4%, to 15,982.75.
The S&P 500 is up 1.2% for the week, pushing the S&P 500's year-to-date return up to 24% as the benchmark enters a seasonally strong part of the year for markets.
Qualcomm led pre-market gainers on the S&P 500, rallying nearly 7% following an earnings beat propelled by a 56% surge in smartphone chip sales. The company also provided strong guidance for the fourth quarter.
MGM shares gained nearly 5% after the casino operator announcing plans to sell the operations of its Mirage casino in Las Vegas to another operator. The company noted that no sales agreement had been reached and it did not mention any possible buyers.
Yet Moderna shares cratered after the drugmaker slashed its COVID-19 vaccine revenue outlook. The stock was last down about 11%
And Roku was under pressure, falling more than 7% after the streaming platform reported disappointing third-quarter revenue.
The central bank said it will begin to curb the pace of its monthly bond-buying program "later this month." This marks the Fed beginning to remove the significant stimulus it’s provided since the pandemic took hold.
The buying will slow by $15 billion per month, which means the quantitative easing should end by the middle of 2022, although the Fed reiterated flexibility saying the amount could change if warranted.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei returned to trading with a gain of 0.9%, while Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rolled to a gain of 0.8%.
Oil prices gained $1.78 to $82.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $18.10 to $1,786.50 U.S. an ounce.
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