Futures for Canada's main stock index edged up on Monday, with strength in gold prices limiting the drag from crude, while investors took cues from a subdued mood on Wall Street.
The TSX gained 15.42 points to close Monday at 20,579.91. On the week, the index gained 383 points, or 1.9%.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index squeezed ahead 0.1% Monday morning.
The Canadian dollar forged ahead 0.03 cents to 74.84 cents U.S.
In company news, Teck Resources has been approached by Vale SA, Anglo American Plc and Freeport-McMoRan, among others, to explore deals for its base metals business if the copper miner goes ahead with a planned split.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $4.6 billion in February, led by acquisitions of corporate bonds. Meanwhile, Canadian investors reduced their exposure to foreign securities by $1.6 billion, a third consecutive month of divestment., while wholesale sales declined 1.7% to $85.6 billion in February. Decreased sales in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories and the food, beverage and tobacco subsectors led the decline.
The Canadian Real Estate Association noted national home sales rose 1.4% month-over-month in March. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 34.4% below March 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.52 points Friday to 637.88, but grew on the week 10.2 points, or 1.63%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were flat Monday, with investors preparing for more quarterly earnings reports.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials nicked ahead 27 points, or 0.1%, at 34,064.
Futures for the S&P 500 edged up two points, or 0.1%, to 4,165.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slid 8.75 points, or 0.1%, to 13,172.50.
Charles Schwab is set to report earnings later in the day. The stock has been under pressure recently, as traders feared the brokerage may suffer a similar fate to regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. However, the company has defended its financial position, noting last month it has a low loan-to-deposit ratio. Schwab shares are down 39% year to date.
Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are slated to report earnings Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Investors have been eyeing the overall health of the sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month spurred a liquidity crisis. Other notable names outside of financials, including electric vehicle heavyweight Tesla will report second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, while Procter & Gamble reports on Friday.
Corporate earnings got off to a positive start, as banking giants Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase beat expectations. But discouraging retail sales data showed a slowdown in consumer spending by 1% in March pulled markets lower Friday.
As companies grapple with sticky inflation and higher rates, many investors have braced for a downbeat earnings reports. But data from Bank of America suggests that this earnings reporting season may already be faring better than expected. Of the companies that reported during the first week, 90% topped EPS estimates. That marks the best beat rate to start earnings season since at least 2012, the Wall Street firm said.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 eked up 0.1% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 1.7%.
Oil prices skidded 44 cents to $82.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $6.30 to $2,022.10 U.S. an ounce.
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