Futures for Canada's main stock index pointed to a lower opening on Thursday, tracking U.S. stock futures, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates but set a higher bar for further reductions.
The S&P/TSX lost 34.46 to finish Wednesday’s trading at 16,800.29, the first downward session for the index in the last seven.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents to 75.34 cents U.S. early Thursday
September futures dipped 0.2% early Thursday.
RBC raised the target price on Cenovus Energy to $17.00 from $14.00
National Bank of Canada cuts price target on Baylin Technologies to $2.75 from $6.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said 450,600 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits in July, up 5,100 (+1.1%) from June.
The number of EI beneficiaries increased in seven provinces, notably in New Brunswick and Alberta. In contrast, there was a decline in Quebec, while there was little change in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as in Manitoba.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 1.99 points Wednesday to 587.67
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were set to open slightly lower Thursday after the Federal Reserve during the prior session steered clear of committing to looser monetary policy and lower interest rates for the remainder of 2019.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slipped 30 points, or 0.1%, early Thursday to 27,120
Futures for the S&P 500 gave back 2.5 points, or 0.1%, at 3,006
NASDAQ Composite futures deferred 14.75 points, or 0.2%, to 7,903.25
Darden Restaurants and Steelcase are among the firms reporting earnings Thursday
Wall Street ended Wednesday trading little changed after the Fed approved a rate cut of one quarter point, but offered little for investors hoping for hints that the central bank would lower borrowing costs further.
It continued to describe the U.S. labour market as "strong" and characterized gross domestic product growth as "moderate."
In terms of data, there will be jobless claims and current account numbers due at 08:30 a.m. ET, and existing home sales due at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Fed’s second rate cut of 2019 brings the target range for the federal funds rate is now 1.75% to 2%.
Money managers are following a new round of face-to-face talks between Chinese and American officials, starting in Washington later Thursday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.4%, while in the Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dumped 1.1%
Oil prices restocked $1.29 to $59.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $5.40 to $1,510.20 U.S. an ounce.
