Futures for stocks in Canada’s largest centre fell more than 1% on Thursday, weighed by lower oil prices as surging coronavirus cases globally dented hopes of a rebound in fuel demand just as major oil producers are set to raise output.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 173.34 points, or 1.1%, to conclude the session on Wednesday at 16,294.66.
September futures sank 1.3% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar plummeted 0.41 cents Thursday to 74.54 cents U.S.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is allowing most of its employees to work from home at least until the end of this year and possibly into 2021, according to an internal memo,
Agnico Eagle Mines reported a near four-fold rise in quarterly profit, driven by a surge in gold prices, while its costs tied to exploration also fell.
National Bank of Canada raised the rating on Alaris Royalty to outperform from sector perform.
RBC raised the target price on Canfor to $22.00 from $18.00
National Bank of Canada raised the price target on Equitable Group to $75.00 from $60.00
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours showed payroll employment decreased in May, falling 585,100, or 4.1%. This followed declines in March (-0.9 million) and April (-1.9 million), and brought total payroll employment losses since February to 3.4 million, or 19.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained back 3.35 points Wednesday to 711.14.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures fell early Thursday as big technology shares declined ahead of their earnings reports after the bell.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials crumpled 191 points, or 0.7%, early Thursday, to 26,249.
Futures for the S&P 500 shed 25.25 points, or 0.8%, at 3,228.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ slipped 88.5 points, or 0.8%, to 10,585.75.
Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook, representing nearly $5 trillion in market capitalization, are all set to report. All four shares were lower slightly in the pre-market.
The Big Tech reports come after each stock has posted massive year-to-date gains. Facebook and Alphabet are both up more than 13% in 2020. Amazon has surged 64.2% in that time and Apple is up 29.5% this year.
It will also be the busiest day of the current earnings season with tons of companies including Ford, UPS and Procter & Gamble also posting results.
P&G shares gained in the pre-market after reporting stronger sales of cleaning products. UPS soared 11% after reporting a second-quarter surge in home deliveries.
In economic news, the first reading on second-quarter gross domestic product is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET along with the latest weekly jobless claims numbers.
The move lower in futures follows a session that saw major averages posting solid gains after the Federal Reserve pledged to maintain its current stimulative measures.
The Fed kept the overnight U.S. rate in a range between 0% and 0.25%. The central bank noted that while the economy has recovered slightly, activity and employment remain “well below their levels at the beginning of the year.”
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell added the central bank will keep an accommodative stance until the economy has “weathered” the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 0.7%.
Oil prices faltered 66 cents to $40.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $6.90 to $1,946.50.
