Toronto's main stock index looked set to open lower on Thursday, as lingering worries over the economic outlook for the euro-zone and soft U.S. data weighed on investors' sentiment.
Canadian stocks to watch this morning include Canadian paper maker Domtar Corp's profit fell 54%, hurt by weak pulp prices and high costs.
Trucker Mullen Group Ltd. posted a nearly 20% jump in first-quarter profit, helped in part by improved performance of its oilfield services unit.
Goldcorp Inc reported a slim increase in its operating profit on Wednesday, as its most prolific mine was hit by operational problems that reduced output and offset most of the gains from a surge in bullion prices.
Auto parts specialist Exco Technologies Ltd. said its quarterly profit rose 33% on higher demand from American and Asian customers.
Lundin Mining Corp. said its quarterly profit fell 18% on lower metal prices and higher operating costs.
MEG Energy Corp. reported an 18% rise in first-quarter profit on lower costs and higher price realizations.
ON BAYSTREET
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 130.96 points, or 1.1%, Wednesday to 12,111.06
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.35 points to 1,371.12, while the Nasdaq Canada index galloped ahead 7.53 points to 409.62
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents this morning at 101.67 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. index futures were down slightly with about half an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will dip a little at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 24 points, or 0.2%, to 13,016. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 5.70 points, or 0.4%, to 1,381.50.
Nasdaq futures faded 4.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,699.75.
On Thursday, investors will have a lot of economic information to digest. Initial jobless claims for the period ended last week are expected to retreat to 375,000 from 386,000 the previous week.
Claims have been disappointingly high for a number of weeks, leading to some concerns that the U.S. employment situation is no longer improving -- though some commentators had blamed the Easter holiday for the setbacks. Thursday also brings the Chicago Fed's national activity index and pending home sales for March.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% in afternoon trading while Germany's DAX index fell 0.4%. There, a reading on European business confidence fell more than expected.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was essentially unchanged in overnight trading.
Crude oil fell to $103.92 U.S. a barrel, down 0.2%. Gold rose to $1,647 U.S. an ounce, up 0.3%.
