Canada's main stock index futures fell in early trade on Wednesday, as investors were cautious following the release of April retail sales data.
The TSX Composite index added 44.29 points to greet the closing bell Tuesday at 20,200.65.
The Canadian dollar added 0.13 cents to 81.36 cents U.S.
September futures were off 0.2% Wednesday.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported retail sales were down 5.7% to $54.8 billion in April. The agency went on to say the decline coincided with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and was the largest decline in retail sales since the first wave of the pandemic hit in April 2020.
Moreover, the Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would open the door to legalize betting on single games or sporting events, which is currently illegal except for on horse racing.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.9 points Tuesday to 940.03.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday, a day after the NASDAQ Composite index hit an all-time high and the S&P 500 closed just shy of one.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials grabbed one point to 33,836.
Futures for the S&P 500 hesitated 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,233.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slipped 2.25 points to 14,256.
The NASDAQ was the relative outperformer Tuesday, hitting a new intraday all-time high and posting a 0.8% gain on the session for a new record close as well.
That was the NASDAQ’s first new high since April 29 as investors have started to rotate back into Big Tech shares.
Bitcoin staged an impressive comeback on Tuesday that was carrying through on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the cryptocurrency at one point dipped below $30,000 and erased its gains for 2021. But bitcoin ultimately recouped all of the more than 11% loss and finished the session in positive territory, according to data from Coin Metrics.
At last check, bitcoin was up another 4% to above $34,000 on Wednesday.
For June the S&P 500 is in the green 1% and the NASDAQ has risen 3.6%. The Dow, however, is in the red for the month amid weakness in Caterpillar and JPMorgan.
Earnings season has mostly finished, but Winnebago is set to report quarterly results before the opening bell on Wednesday, while KB Home will post results when the market closes.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the House of Representatives on Tuesday, which appeared to lift sentiment as he reiterated that inflation pressures will be temporary.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 ducked just more than nine points, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index recovered 1.8%.
Oil prices gained 52 cents to $73.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $5.40 to $1,782.30 U.S.
