Toronto futures crept higher on Thursday, pushed by oil prices, while Canadian big banks' quarterly earnings kicked off on a mixed note as Royal Bank of Canada beat profit estimates, while Toronto-Dominion Bank missed analyst expectations.
The TSX surged 188.58 points to close Wednesday at 19,879.79, up from a two-month low.
September futures gained 0.2% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar settled 0.08 cents to 73.86 cents U.S.
Canada's largest bank, Royal Bank of Canada beat analysts' estimates for the third-quarter profit, boosted by cost-cutting measures and higher interest rates.
The country's second-largest bank, Toronto-Dominion Bank, missed Bay Street estimates for quarterly profit as it set aside money to cover unpaid loans.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 11.27 points, or 1.9%, Wednesday to 593.51.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose Thursday, as investors cheered strong second-quarter results from chipmaker Nvidia, which appeared to fuel even more excitement around artificial intelligence.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 26 points, or 0.1%, to 34,496.
Futures for the S&P 500 progressed 25.5 points, or 0.6%, to 4,472.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ leaped 180.5 points, or 1.2%, to 15,376.
Nvidia shares popped 8% after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that exceeded lofty analyst expectations. The company also raised its guidance, with executives predicting third-quarter revenue would climb to $16 billion, or a year-over-year increase of 170%.
This marks the second straight quarterly report from Nvidia that blows away expectations. The first-quarter numbers, released in May, helped stoke investor interest in artificial intelligence, which became a key market driver in the first half of the year. Interest in the chip stock catapulted its value to more than $1 trillion.
Other chipmakers got a boost from the report. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor added 3.1%, while AMD climbed 2.3%. Marvell Technology gained 4.6%.
Investors also await comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, which Wall Street hopes will provide insight toward the path of benchmark interest rates.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index hiked 0.9% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sprang up 2.1%.
Oil prices gathered 18 cents to $79.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $1.90 to $1,946.20 U.S. an ounce.
