Futures tracking Toronto's main stock index dipped on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation reading that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
The TSX lost 13.91 points to close Wednesday at 31,250.02.
The Canadian dollar stepped down 0.27 cents to 72.52 cents U.S.
Futures were down 0.1% Thursday.
Cannabis stocks will be in focus as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to address the potential loosening of federal regulations on marijuana later in the day. U.S.-listed shares of Canopy Growth jumped 10.9% and Tilray Brands climbed 1.6%, in premarket trading.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada said the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 21,200 (+0.1%) in October, largely offsetting a decline of 24,300 (-0.1%) in September.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 68,300 (+0.4%) in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchanged dipped 3.11 points Wednesday to 932.46.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose on Thursday as investors awaited inflation data that could be a catalyst for the market.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials acquired 90 points, or 0.2%, to 48,330.
Futures for the S&P 500 perked 29.75 points, or 0.4%, to 6,808.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ popped 202.5 points, or 0.8%, to 25,101.25.
Micron Technology jumped 14% in premarket trading after the semiconductor play topped Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fiscal first quarter and offered a strong revenue forecast for the current period.
Traders are awaiting the release of November’s consumer price index reading, due Thursday morning. It will mark the first consumer inflation report issued to the public since the U.S. government shutdown ended last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones predict that headline inflation grew at a 3.1% pace on a year-over-year basis.
Stocks are coming off of a rough trading session, pressured by sharp losses in leading semiconductor names tied to the artificial intelligence trade.
In the regular session, Oracle slid more than 5% after the Financial Times reported that the cloud infrastructure company’s primary investor pulled out of its $10-billion Michigan data center.
Concerns about the high capital costs behind massive data center deals, such as Oracle’s, sent shivers throughout the market and led several chipmakers to decline in sympathy throughout the session. Broadcom lost 4.5%, while shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices also fell.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 in Japan sank 1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged higher 0.1%.
Oil prices crept up six cents to $56.00
Gold prices tailed off $19.60 to $4,354.30.
