Canadian stock futures dipped on Thursday, as oil prices eased after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, while investors looked ahead to a key payrolls report on Friday.
The TSX Composite Index was hammered 367.92 points, or 1.1%, to adjourn Wednesday at 34,801.54.
June futures eased 0.1% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar removed 0.02 cents to 71.95 cents U.S.
TransAlta said on Wednesday it will acquire two natural gas-fired peaking facilities near Denver from Blackstone for about $1 billion, strengthening its presence in the Western U.S. power market.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada will extend steel tariff-rate quotas and tariff relief on certain U.S. steel and aluminum imports by one year on Wednesday, citing the need to shield workers from global excess capacity and give the industry longer-term certainty.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, raising hopes for a de-escalation between Washington and Tehran, even as Iran struck Kuwait and U.S. forces hit near the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring continuing tensions in the months-long conflict.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange demurred 27.9 points, or 2.7%, Wednesday to 1,005.20.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 futures fell Thursday as traders dumped chip stocks following an underwhelming report from Broadcom, while they also monitored the latest developments in the Middle East.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials regained 300 points, or 0.6%, to 51,101.
Futures for the much broader index dipped 33.5 points, or 0.5%, to 7,638.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slumped 378.75 points, or 1.2%, to 30,257.50.
Shares of Broadcom traded 13% lower after the chipmaker reported a fiscal second-quarter revenue miss. Cybersecurity stock CrowdStrike also fell 10% after giving lackluster second-quarter revenue guidance.
Semiconductor names, which led the latest leg higher in the market’s rally to record levels, fell broadly.
Arm Holdings, Micron Technology and Marvell Technology were also down around 6% each.
Thursday’s moves follow a losing day on Wall Street, with stocks pressured by rising tensions in the Middle East.
Attacks escalated between the U.S. and Iran. Iran struck Kuwait International Airport early Wednesday, while one day earlier U.S. Central Command said it had defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and carried out “self-defense strikes” on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. It said that this was in response to “attempted attacks” by Tehran.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dived 1.4% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shook off 1.5%.
Oil prices went down $1.65 to $94.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rebounded $40.10 to $4,507 U.S an ounce.
