The Toronto Stock Market was poised for a slightly higher open Wednesday, boosted by a generally positive tone in the world markets and commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index inched up 10.19 points to conclude Tuesday at 12,464.11
The Canadian dollar faded 0.02 cents to 99.55 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Canada is midway through a heavy earnings week.
Tim Hortons Inc. reported a slight contraction in net income in what the iconic coffee and doughnut chain says was an expected "soft quarter." The Ontario-based company with locations across Canada and in the U.S. had net income attributable to stockholders of $86.2 million or 56 cents per share, down 2.9% from $88.8 million. The chain also announced the appointment of Marc Caira, a longtime senior executive at Nestle, as its new president and CEO.
Also, two media companies reported drops in first-quarter income.
Torstar Corp. says it saw a decline in both revenue and net income in the first quarter as the newspaper and book publisher continued to face challenges in the print advertising market.
The company, which operates a number of digital properties along with publishing the Toronto Star and Harlequin books, says net income attributable to equity shareholders tumbled $13.3 million to $4.2 million or five cents per share in the quarter. That compared with $17.5 million or 22 cents per share in the same 2012 period.
Quebecor Inc. has reported a sharp drop in first-quarter net income, although revenues remained stable overall, falling less than one per cent. The Quebec-based majority owner of Quebecor Media Inc., says net income attributable to shareholders was $35.6 million or 57 cents per share, compared with $71.4 million or $1.13 per basic share in the first quarter of 2012.
On the economic agenda, the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 174,858 units in April, down from 181,146 in March., according to figures released this morning by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The March figure was revised down from the 184,028 units reported a month earlier. Analysts had expected 175,000 starts in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 5.96 points to 961.42
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were narrowly mixed Wednesday, following a headline-grabbing performance on Tuesday.
Futures for the Dow Industrials gained 13 points, or 0.1%, to 14,996. Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 0.5 points to 1,620.1, and futures for the NASDAQ eked up 1.25 points to 2,947.45.
Investors in the U.S. will likely take their cues from another round of corporate earnings.
Shares of JCPenney rose in pre-market trading after the troubled retailer released a preliminary report showing a decline in quarterly sales that may not have been as bad as some had expected.
Wendy's shares fell after the restaurant chain reported sales that missed forecasts. AOL missed earnings estimates. Toyota Motors reported a surge in profit for its fiscal year 2013, which ended on March 31.
Walt Disney reported better-than-expected earnings and sales late Tuesday, and several analysts raised their price targets on the stock.
Whole Foods shares surged after the supermarket chain reported quarterly earnings that beat estimates.
Tesla, News Corp. and Green Mountain Coffeeare up after Wednesday's close.
Shares of Manchester United could be in play after the long-time manager of the English soccer team announced he would retire. This comes less than a year after the company listed in New York.
European markets were trending higher in morning trading, with the Euronext 100 index displaying some solid support.
Asian markets ended higher. The Nikkei added 0.7%, the Hang Seng increased 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5%
Oil prices gained 17 cents to $95.79 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices took on $15.00 to $1,463.80 U.S.
