Canada's main stock index pointed to a higher open on Wednesday as speculation surrounding the European Central Bank's possible rate cut and the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary easing policy continued.
The S&P/TSX composite index fought its way out of negative territory Tuesday to finish unchanged at 13,361.78. Futures were up 0.3% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.16 cents to 95.81 cents U.S. early Tuesday
Magna International Inc reported a nearly 13% rise in quarterly sales as its European business improved.
Talisman Energy reported a smaller quarterly net loss compared with the year-earlier quarter, when it took a $1.04-billion impairment charge.
Agrium reported a sharply lower third-quarter profit and a disappointing forecast for the current fourth quarter.
Penn West Petroleum said it aims to sell non-core assets worth $1.5 billion to $2 billion before 2015 as part of a plan to focus on fewer fields centered on the Cardium field in Alberta.
Torstar Corp reported a quarterly loss as it took an asset impairment charge of $85.5 million related to its media business.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that building permits in Canada moved up 1.7% in September to $6.5 billion, the seventh monthly advance since the beginning of the year.
Western University’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index for October is due out at 10 a.m. ET.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 6.86 points Tuesday to 945.66
ON WALLSTREET
It looks like stocks will open with a pop Wednesday morning.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 70 points, or 0.5%, at 15,620. Futures for the S&P 500 took on eight points, or 0.5%, to 1,764.50, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 11.50 points, or 0.3%, to 3,391.25
Time Warner topped earnings forecasts and reaffirmed guidance for the year. Insurer Humana also reported better than expected earnings before the bell.
CBS, Whole Foods and SolarCity are up in the afternoon.
Tesla shares plunged more than 11% in pre-market trading after the electric car maker's third-quarter results were weaker than expected.
Investors will also be keeping tabs on Twitter. The social media site, which has more than 230 million users, is widely expected to go public any day.
European markets were moving higher in morning trading. The CAC 40 in Paris was leading the way with a 0.7% gain.
It was a mixed picture for Asia's stock markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 index and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.8%, while the Hang Seng was flat
Oil prices gained 59 cents to $93.96 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices hiked $8.70 to $1,316.80 U.S. an ounce.
