Markets in Toronto looked set to open higher on Thursday as investors shifted focus from the U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes to strong economic data from China and the euro-zone, which painted signs of a global economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX composite index dumped 97.24 points to close Wednesday at 12,572.87, with futures gaining 0.5%
The Canadian dollar faded 0.29 cents, to 95.19 cents U.S. early Thursday
Canada is focused on boosting competition in the telecom sector and will examine any move by industry leader Rogers Communications back a private equity bid for two small wireless carriers, Industry Minister James Moore said on Wednesday.
National Bank Financial resumed the rating on Atco Ltd with sector perform on valuation.
KBW raised the price target on Bank of Montreal to $63 from $62, believing that the bank could report steady core profitability and an in-line quarter highlighted by strong growth and better net interest margin in the U.S.
KBW raised the price target on the Bank of Nova Scotia to $61 from $60, saying potential economic headwinds in the emerging markets in which it operates could results in slower growth and potentially higher credit costs as well.
National Bank Financial resumed coverage on Canadian Utilities Ltd. with a sector perform rating after the company reported adjusted EPS of C$1.20 with 14% growth year-over-year, driven by ongoing rate base growth within its utilities segment coupled with relatively strong realized Alberta power prices within the energy segment.
On things economic, Statistics Canada reported that June retail sales declined 0.6%, partially offsetting the gain in May.
The nation’s number-crunchers also said the number of those on regular employment insurance edged up during June by 4,500 or 9% to 512,300, after a decline in May.
The number of beneficiaries has, most recently, been trending downward. Compared with June 2012, the number of people receiving regular benefits declined 6.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 7.40 points Wednesday to 925.20
ON WALLSTREET
It looks like the recent losing streak in stocks may finally be broken Thursday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Industrials took on 35 points, or 0.2%, to 14,882. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 5.20 points, or 0.3%, to 1,641.70, and futures for the NASDAQ recovered 14.50 points, or 0.5%, at 3,077.
In corporate news, Abercrombie & Fitch shares plummeted in pre-market trading after the clothing retailer reported slumps in quarterly sales and profits.
Sears Holdings reported before the bell that its quarterly losses widened compared to a year ago, on falling revenue.
Hewlett-Packard shares dropped after the company announced its latest earnings on Wednesday, showing that PC sales are still in the dumps.
Dollar Tree will also report earnings before the bell, while Gap and Pandora Media release results after the market close.
The markets have experienced a string of losses over the past few trading sessions. On Wednesday, the release of minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting pushed stocks lower.
Investors have been in a bearish mood as they consider the possibility that the Fed will soon start pulling back on its massive bond-purchase program -- also known as quantitative easing -- which has propped up equity markets.
Economically speaking, investors are digesting the weekly report on initial jobless claims from the U.S. Department of Labor
European markets were rising in morning trading, with many indexes rallying by more than 1% after a survey of purchasing managers indicated the region's fragile economic recovery may be gathering pace.
Asian markets ended with mixed numbers. Stocks in Hong Kong popped up by 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite index declined by 0.3%.
This comes after the latest Chinese factory data pointed to a stabilizing economy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped by 0.4%
Oil prices gained 13 cents to $103.98 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices doffed $2.10 to $1,368 U.S. an ounce.
