Canadian stocks looked set to open little changed on Wednesday as investors await the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 15.46 points to close Tuesday at 15,055.89, with futures ahead but 0.09%
The Canadian dollar slid 0.07 cents to 92 U.S. early Wednesday
The Canadian government approved the construction of Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline on Tuesday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday it would launch an exchange offer for Allergan this week, allowing it to eventually take the unsolicited bid directly to shareholders.
First Quantum Minerals said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy Lumina Copper Corp for about $456 million, in a bid to win control of Lumina's Taca Taca copper project in Argentina.
Barclays raised the target price on Canadian Natural Resources to $53 from $48
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us that wholesale trade rose 1.2% to $51.2 billion in April following a decline in March. Higher sales were recorded in all sub-sectors except for food, beverage and tobacco.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved forward 7.36 points Tuesday to 1,006.05
ON WALLSTREET
Investors will be focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday, but that's not the only thing to watch in the markets.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost one point to 16,728. Futures for the S&P 500 were flat at 1,933.80, and futures for the NASDAQ acquired 4.25 points to 3,776.50.
Investors are watching interest rates closely these days and markets will get more hints about where they're heading. The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee wraps up its two-day policy setting meeting Wednesday, and is expected to reduce its asset-purchase program further.
Adobe is taking center stage ahead of the open, with shares rising by 7% in pre-market trading. The company, which is behind the popular Photoshop software, reported better-than-expected quarterly results Tuesday evening.
Shares in the massive retailer Hennes & Mauritz (aka H&M) were rising by about 1% in European trading after the company posted its latest financial results.
Shares in Amazon could be active when CEO Jeff Bezos unveils a still-unknown product that is widely suspected to be a high-end smartphone. The announcement will be made near Amazon's Seattle headquarters.
General Motors shares could be on the move as GM CEO Mary Barra returns to Capitol Hill, vowing again to take any steps necessary to avoid a repeat of the automaker's recall crisis.
Anton Valukas, the former federal prosecutor who conducted a recent GM probe, will also be testifying.
FedEx will report quarterly earnings before the opening bell.
European stock markets were moving up in morning trading, though the gains were small.
Russia's main index rose by about 0.8% after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the possibility of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The ruble made similar gains versus the U.S. dollar.
Asian markets ended with mixed results. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose by nearly 1%, but markets in India and China were in negative territory.
Oil prices gained 31 cents to $106.67 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices lost a dollar to $1,271 U.S. an ounce.
