Futures for Canada's resource-heavy main stock index edged up in choppy trading on Thursday as crude prices rose, while investors awaited key U.S. data to gauge the outlook for interest rates.
The TSX Composite remained positive 182,75 points, or nearly 1%, to greet the closing bell Wednesday at 19,279.76.
December futures eked up 0.1% on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar removed 0.35 cents to 73.95 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, Teck Resources said it has agreed to sell its 21.3% stake in the Fort Hills oil sands project to Suncor Energy for about $1 billion in cash.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported its Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—fell by 22,200, or 0.1%, in August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange finished 0.38 points above the breakeven point Wednesday to 596.32.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose slightly on Thursday, as investors seemed to brush off disappointing results from Meta Platforms
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 217 points, or 0.7%, to 32,087.
Futures for the S&P 500 ditched four points to 3,837.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite skidded 74 points, or 0.6%, to 11,372.
For the week, all the major averages remain in positive territory, with the Dow and S&P up more than 2% and NASDAQ roughly 1% higher. The Dow is on pace for its fourth positive week in a row since its five-week streak ended in November 2021.
Shares of the Facebook parent company plummeted 20% in premarket trading on a weak fourth-quarter forecast and disappointing third-quarter earnings. The company also said it would lose even more money next year building out the metaverse. The report led to several analysts downgrading the stock.
Traders also pored over earnings reports from other companies. ServiceNow surged more than 12% after an earnings beat. Ford Motor, meanwhile, dipped 2% after the company posted its latest results.
Comcast and McDonald’s shares traded up 8% and 2.9%, respectively, following earnings reports that beat expectations before the bell.
Cigarette company Altria Group shed 2.4% after missing expectations on earnings per share and revenue. Big technology earnings continue Thursday with results from Amazon and Apple.
Along with earnings, investors have their sights on an advanced reading of third-quarter gross domestic product expected to offer further clues into the state of the U.S. economy.
Weekly initial jobless claims and September durable goods are also slated for Thursday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 forked over 0.3% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.7%.
Oil prices grew 61 cents to $88.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $4.50 to $1,674.70 U.S. an ounce.
