Futures for Canada's main stock index edged higher on Tuesday, aided by higher metal prices, while investors remained focused on the Bank of Canada's meeting on Wednesday for clues about the timing of interest rate cuts.
The TSX Composite squeezed out 17.78 points worth of gains to conclude Monday at 20,924.30.
March futures gained 0.3% Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar captured 0.44 cents to 74.24 cents U.S.
Meanwhile, railroad operator Canadian National Railway is expected to report its fourth-quarter results later in the day.
Wood products firm West Fraser announced the closure of its Fraser Lake sawmill, which is expected to impact 175 employees and the company's production capacity.
The BoC is widely expected to keep policy rates unchanged at 5% at the first meeting of 2024 on Wednesday,
Statistics Canada’s new housing price index for December was unchanged month over month. Prices were down or unchanged in 21 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange settled back 1.02 points to end Monday at 551.31.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 38,000 for the first time ever.
Futures for the 30-stock index faded 36 points, or 0.1% to 38,163.
Futures for the S&P 500 hiked 4.75 points, or 0.1%, at 4,885.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ pushed higher 30 points, or 0.2%, to 17,488.50.
United Airlines rose more than 6% in the pre-market after reporting strong fourth-quarter results. However, the airline operator said it expects a first-quarter loss from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, the model involved in the Alaska Airlines emergency earlier this month.
At its Tuesday earnings call, United will likely field questions about the grounding and any compensation from Boeing.
Shares of other airline operators rose in tandem with United. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines each added 3% and 2.8%, respectively. Alaska Air Group and Delta Air Lines climbed roughly 2% each.
But investors are deliberating how long the gains can persist, especially as the rally this year has centered around tech stocks such as Nvidia, while broader participation has continued to disappoint. This month alone, Nvidia is up 20%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.1% Tuesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index vaulted 2.6%.
Oil prices dipped 74 cents to $74.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices zoomed $5.40 to $2,027.60 U.S. an ounce.
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