Canada's main stock index looked set to open higher on Tuesday, catching up with gains in global markets during the Canada Day holiday on Monday, and helped by encouraging U.S. and Japanese economic data.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 123.33 points, or 1%, Friday, to finish the day, week, second quarter and first half of 2013 at 12,129.11. Tuesday futures were up 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar flopped 0.66 cents to 94.61 cents U.S. early Tuesday.
Barrick Gold Corp. said on Friday it is slowing construction at its Pascua-Lama gold project in South America, as it looks to rein in spending on the severely delayed project, already billions of dollars over budget.
Thomson Reuters Corp. has agreed to buy the foreign exchange options business of Tradeweb Markets for an undisclosed amount, it said.
It’s a light day on the macroeconomic scene in this country, the lone exception being the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ report due out just as the market opens.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 21.16 points Friday to 881.40
ON WALLSTREET
After kicking off the second half of the year with a strong performance, U.S. investors are looking to capitalize on the momentum Tuesday.
Futures for the Dow Industrials inched up 26 points, or 0.2%, 14,908. Futures for the S&P 500 gained one points, or 0.1%, to 1,607.70, and futures for the NASDAQ hiked six points, or 0.2%, to 2,923.
Zynga shares closed 10.4% higher Monday and were up an additional 4% in premarket trading. The social gaming company announced late Monday that CEO Mark Pincus is stepping down.
Don Mattrick, the former head of Microsoft's Xbox and gaming division, will take over as Zynga chief.
In world markets, European stocks were lower in morning trading, pulling back after broad-based gains Monday.
The major U.S. automakers are set to release monthly sales figures, while the Census Bureau will release data on factory orders at 10 a.m. ET.
U.S. stocks finished with gains Monday following positive reports on manufacturing and construction spending.
The economic reports were consistent with a gradually improving economy, but not strong enough to raise concerns about the Federal Reserve reducing its stimulus policies.
In world markets, European stocks were lower in morning trading, pulling back after broad-based gains Monday.
Asian markets ended with mixed results. In China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.6%. But traders in Hong Kong came back from a Monday holiday in a bearish mood, pushing the benchmark Hang Seng index down by 0.7%.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1.8%. The index has surged by more than 9% since Thursday morning, bouncing back from bear market territory. The index has been helped over the past few days as the yen weakened against the dollar.
Oil prices gained 31 cents to $98.30 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $5.30 to $1,250.40 U.S.
