Toronto futures inched lower on Wednesday as oil prices slipped, while investors awaited domestic economic data and minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July policy meeting to assess the interest rate trajectory.
The TSX collapsed 303.1 points, or 1.5%, to observe the closing bell Tuesday at 19,987.44.
September futures sank 0.1% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 74.14 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy said on Tuesday it is continuing talks with French oil major TotalEnergies about buying its nearly one-third stake in the Fort Hills oil sands mine.
Global bus manufacturer NFI Group and pot producer Cresco Labs will report quarterly results later in the day.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada notifies us wholesale sales fell 2.8% to $80.5 billion in June., while Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation informed us that housing starts fell sharply in July to 255,000, from June's 281,573.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stumbled 7.59 points, or 1.3%, Tuesday to 589.48.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures are near flat Wednesday as traders awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes. Wall Street was coming off a losing session that marked the latest leg down in an August slump.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials inched up 25 points to 35,032.
Futures for the S&P 500 added 2.75 points to 4,456.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ picked up 10.5 points to 15,117.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dipped 1.5%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gave back 1.4%.
With just over half of August left, the three major indexes are on pace to see a losing month. The NASDAQ is slated to end 5% lower, and S&P 500 is on track to end 3.3% lower, while the Dow is slated to drop 1.7%.
Meanwhile, the backend of the corporate earnings season rolled on. Tax preparer H&R Block and Mediterranean food chain Cava advanced 6.1% and 8.6%, respectively, on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly reports. Target, meanwhile, popped more than 5% even after the retailer cut its full-year outlook.
Financial stocks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America slid after Fitch warned it may be forced to downgrade the credit ratings of dozens of banks. It comes as the latest challenges to the sector, following Moody’s decision last week to downgrade the ratings of 10 banks while putting other institutions on a watchlist.
The Fed is slated post the minutes from its July meeting at 2 p.m. ET. Back then, the central bank raised rates to their highest levels in more than 22 years.
Investors will also watch for economic data on housing, industrial production and capacity utilization.
Oil prices moved forward 26 cents to $81.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tailed off $1.30 to $1,933.90 U.S. an ounce.
