Futures for Canada's main stock index were subdued on Wednesday, as global sentiment was hit by soaring inflation and economic growth worries ahead of the Bank of Canada's rate decision due later in the day.
The S&P/TSX retreated 190.06 points, to end Tuesday and a wild month of May at 20,729.34.
June futures were flat Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar settled 0.02 cents to 79.10 cents U.S.
British energy services provider Wood Plc said on Wednesday that it had agreed to sell its built environment consulting division to Canada's WSP Global for $1.9 billion, in an effort to raise funds and cut debt.
National Bank of Canada started coverage on CCL Industries with an "outperform" rating
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on EQ Inc to "hold" from "speculative buy"
National Bank of Canada cut the target price on Sun Life Financial to $68.00 from $72.00
On the economic calendar, Markit Canada’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for May is due out at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
The central bank’s interest rate decision is due about 10 a.m. EDT.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 16.85 points, or 2.3%, Tuesday to 720.98.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were mostly higher Wednesday as Wall Street turned the page to another month following a volatile May.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials soared 124 points, or 0.4%, Wednesday to 33,095.
Futures for the S&P 500 grabbed 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,141.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index pointed up 26.5 points, or 0.2%, to 12,673.
For the month of May, the Dow and S&P 500 finished little changed, after last week’s strong rally chipped away at long losing streaks for the indexes. The NASDAQ Composite underperformed, shedding more than 2%.
However, the ride for stock investors was far choppier than the month-end results suggest. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into bear market territory last month, trading more than 20% below a record at one point. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, is deep in a bear market — down 25.5% from an all-time high.
Traders pored over a raft of mixed quarterly results that included some big misses from bellwether names like Walmart.
With the first-quarter earnings season nearly complete and the Fed having strongly signaled its rate hike intentions for its next two meetings, stocks could struggle for direction over the summer.
One potential source of optimism for markets overnight is Salesforce, whose first-quarter results topped expectations. The stock rose more than 8% in pre-market trading.
On Wednesday, investors will get an updated look at manufacturing and construction spending data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 progressed 0.7% Wednesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 0.6%.
Oil prices gained 69 cents to $115.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $15.00 to $1,827.70 U.S. an ounce.
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