The Toronto stock market headed for a positive open as traders were encouraged by a successful bond auction by Spain that raised €2.54 billion euros.
In corporate news, pulp producer Fibrek has suffered a setback in its bid to thwart a hostile takeover after the Supreme Court of Canada refused Wednesday to hear an appeal of a ruling disallowing a key defensive move.
At issue was Fibrek’s decision to issue special warrants to its ally, Mercer International Inc., in order to thwart Resolute Forest Products. The warrants would have increased the total number of Fibrek shares outstanding and make it more expensive for Resolute to win a two-thirds majority stake in Fibrek.
ON BAYSTREET
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished Wednesday down 8.05 points to 12,128.89
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 10.48 points to 1,411.82, while the Nasdaq Canada index added 4.74 points to 411.36
The Canadian dollar was down 0.27 of a cent to 100.62 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. index futures were higher with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 21 points, or 0.2%, to 12,978. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.9 points, or 0.1%, to 1,380.20.
Futures for the Nasdaq jumped 10.25 points, or 0.4% to 2,704.25.
An auction of Spanish 10-year government bonds was met with strong demand, which relieves some anxiety -- even though the country's borrowing costs rose. European stocks rose: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% and Germany's DAX index rose 0.6% in afternoon trading.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.8%
Oil prices were up 0.1% to $102.78 U.S. a barrel, while gold prices faded 0.3% to $1,635.10 U.S. an ounce.
