Canada's main stock index looked set to open higher on Wednesday on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue with its monetary easing policy, ahead of the release of minutes of its May meeting and testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 129.38 points, or 1%, to end Tuesday at 12,742.43. Futures moved up 0.4% early Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.40 cents to 96.97 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Sears Canada Inc posted a loss in the first quarter compared with a profit last year, and named E.J. Bird as chief financial officer.
Elsewhere, West Africa-focused miner Afferro has agreed to a $190-million cash-and-paper offer from investment group IMIC which
could pave the way for its flagship iron ore project to be developed.
Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Rick Waugh said on Tuesday that Chinese authorities are reevaluating whether they want to go ahead with a deal to sell 20% of Bank of Guangzhou to Scotiabank
Talisman Energy expects to remove the faulty platform at its Yme oilfield in the North Sea next year and to install a new one by the first half of 2015, it said in the first timeline provided since the troubled project was suspended last year.
The White House has threatened to veto legislation pending in the U.S House of Representatives that could strip from President Barack Obama the authority to approve TransCanada Corporation’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported this morning that retail sales came in at $39.5 billion in March, roughly the same as the month before. After removing the effects of price changes, particularly lower gasoline prices, retail sales in volume terms rose 0.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.73 points Tuesday to 939.41
ON WALLSTREET
All eyes are on Chairman Ben Bernanke and the U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday as investors await clues about whether the central bank will continue to pump money into the financial system.
Futures for the Dow Industrials improved 18 points, or 0.1%, to 15,373. Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 3.90 points, or 0.2%, to 1,669.50, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 11 points, or 0.4%, to 3,032.50
Bernanke will discuss his outlook for the economy Wednesday before Congress in a hearing that begins at 10 a.m. ET.
Then at 2 p.m. ET, the Fed will release the minutes from its most recent policy meeting.
In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors will release data on existing home sales at 10 a.m ET.
In company news, retailer Target reported a worse-than-expected decline in earnings.
Lowe's reported an increase in quarterly sales and profit, but the home improvement retailer missed estimates.
Staples reported a decline in quarterly sales because of store closings. The office supplier also reported a drop in profit.
Shares of Saks Fifth Avenue rallied about 19% in pre-market trading following a strong sales report and a New York Post story saying the luxury retailer may be looking for a buyer.
Shares in Carnival dropped one day after the cruise ship operator took a beating following its dour sales outlook for the year.
Hewlett-Packard is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the close.
European markets were lower in midday trading.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended with mixed results. The Shanghai composite index dipped by 0.1% and the Hang Seng dropped by nearly 0.5%.
But Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rallied by 1.6% after Japan's central bank pledged to maintain its ambitious quantitative easing program, saying that economic conditions in the country are improving.
Oil prices lost 15 cents to $96.03 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices marched forward $15.40 to $1,393 U.S.
