Futures for Canada's commodity-heavy stock index slipped on Wednesday, tracking weakness in crude oil prices, with concerns about a potential recession in the United States adding to the pressure.
The TSX lopped off 2.52 points to end Tuesday at 20,275.76.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.1% Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.13 cents to 74.28 cents U.S.
In company news, Bernstein raised Canopy Growth to "market perform" from "underperform".
U.S.-listed shares of Hut 8 Mining gained 2.3% in premarket trading after the crypto mining firm announced its March production and operations update.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Canadian international merchandise trade in February decreased in February. Exports were down 2.4%, while imports decreased 1.3%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world narrowed from $1.2 billion in January to $422 million in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.11 points Tuesday to 630.04.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were lower on Wednesday as traders assess the state of the global economy following a losing session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials faltered 30 points, or 0.1%, at 33,547.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 5.5 points to 4,123.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite forged ahead seven points, or 0.1%, to 13,212.
Johnson & Johnson shares rose nearly 3% in premarket trading after the pharmaceutical company said Tuesday it would pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle claims that its talc products caused cancer.
Wednesday’s moves come as concern over higher rates simmered once again. New Zealand’s central bank overnight hiked rates by 50 basis points, noting that inflation was “too high and persistent.”
On Wednesday, traders are expecting the latest ADP private payrolls report before the bell. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting a rise of 210,000 jobs in March, down from an increase of 242,000 in the previous month.
The latest reading of the ISM Services Index is also set to release. Economists are forecasting a reading of 54.3, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates. That’s down slightly from 55.1 in the previous release.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was slammed 1.7% Wednesday, while markets in Hong Kong were closed for holiday.
Oil prices shed six cents to $80.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices eked higher $1.70 to $2,038.90 U.S. an ounce.
