Canada’s main stock index is poised to open higher on Thursday after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting and as upbeat U.S. economic data in the previous session helped keep fears of global slowdown at bay.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished Wednesday’s session down 31.76 points to 12,359.47. Futures moved 0.4% higher.
The Canadian dollar grew 0.20 cents Thursday morning to 101.44 cents U.S.
Network equipment maker Sandvine Corporation reported a third-quarter loss as margins tightened.
Air Canada carried record levels of passengers for the month September.
Husky Energy Inc. reached agreement with the United Steelworkers union, after a four-month strike, for members to return to work at the 155,000 barrel-per-day Lima, Ohio, refinery starting Oct. 8, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.
Economic data includes the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index report, due out at 10 a.m. ET.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 6.56 points Wednesday to 1,325.22
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures in the United States were higher Thursday following two reports on the U.S. labour market.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials improved 48 points, or 0.4%, to 13,474, about 30 minutes before the opening bell. Futures for the S&P 500 gained eight points, or 0.6%, to 1,452.70, and for the Nasdaq, futures took on 13.75 points, or 0.5%, to 2,821.75
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of people filing for first-time unemployment claims rose by 4,000 to 367,000 for the week ended Sept. 29… slightly higher than expected.
Ahead of that report, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S.-based employers announced plans to cut 33,816 jobs in September, down 71% from a year earlier.
These reports, along with Wednesday's ADP report on job growth in the private sector, are all precursors to the U.S. government's closely watched monthly jobs report due out Friday.
At 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will release minutes for its most recent policy making meeting, in which it announced the latest round of quantitative easing or QE3. The report could shed light on the Fed's open-ended program of buying $40 billion in mortgage debt every month.
Investors will also be keeping a wary eye on Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank president who recently said he'd do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
ECB officials kept rates at 0.75% when they met in Slovenia Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, its perch since early 2009.
European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX and France's CAC 40 shed 0.1%.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended higher, with markets in Shanghai closed this week for a holiday. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong ticked up 0.1% while Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.9%.
Oil prices added 61 cents to $88.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rose $12.20 to $1,792.00 U.S. an ounce.
