Futures tracking Canada's energy-heavy main stock index rose on Wednesday, hovering near record highs as oil prices climbed ahead of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies.
The TSX Composite Index fell 12.03 points to close Tuesday at 20,582.94.
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.16 cents to 79.42 cents U.S.
September futures galloped 0.5% Wednesday.
The U.S. rail regulator on Tuesday rejected a voting trust structure that would have allowed Canadian National Railway to proceed with its $29-billion proposed acquisition of U.S. peer Kansas City Southern.
Meantime, CIBC raised the price target on CN to $158.00 from $145.00
Conservatives hammered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday after data showed that the country's economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter and again in July, putting the economy at the center of debate three weeks ahead of a national election.
Credit Suisse raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $147.00 from $144.00
National Bank of Canada resumed coverage on MDF Commerce with a sector perform rating
On the economic slate, in the meeting between OPEC and allies, the producer club is expected to stick to a plan to add 400,000 barrels per day each month through to December.
IHS Markit Canada is due out this morning (9:30 a.m. EDT) its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange pushed ahead 1.86 points Tuesday to 896.54
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were higher in early morning trading on Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched a seven-month win streak in August.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hurtled higher 108 points, or 0.3%, to 35,448
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 16.5 points, or 0.4%, to 4,537.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index picked up 58.25 points, or 0.4%, to 15,640.75.
The major averages all finished higher for the month of August. The S&P 500 rose 2.9% for the month, posting its best winning streak since 2017. The NASDAQ gained about 4% for its third positive month and while the Dow lagged, it still added 1.2%.
Cyclical stocks tied to the reopening of the economy were gaining in pre-market trading Wednesday. Casino shares were higher, led by Las Vegas Sands. Exxon Mobil led a gain in energy shares.
Bank shares were rising led by Citigroup and Bank of America up by about 1% apiece in the pre-market. The financials sector led the market higher in August with a gain of 5%.
Solar stock Sunrun gained 2% in pre-market trading after JPMorgan predicted a comeback that would take the shares 90% higher.
Zoom Video shares rebounded in pre-market trading following a 16% plunge Tuesday after Cathie Wood revealed she bought nearly 200,000 shares on the dip.
On the data front, U.S. companies created far fewer jobs than expected in August with private payrolls rising just 374,000, according to a report from payroll services firm ADP. That is well below the Dow Jones estimate of 600,000.
The report is a precursor to the official August U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which will be released Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 720,000 jobs were created in August and the unemployment rate fell to 5.2%.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index acquired 0.6%.
Oil prices added 24 cents to $68.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $1.40 to $1,816.70 U.S. a pound.
