Stock futures pointed to a lower start for equities in Toronto on Wednesday, a day after weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings from Bank of Montreal dragged down the index.
The S&P/TSX composite index ditched 35.29 points to close Tuesday at 15,164.97. March futures gave back 0.2% on Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.42 cents to 80.48 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Royal Bank of Canada, the country's biggest lender, said quarterly net profit jumped 17%, helped by gains in its personal and commercial banking and capital markets businesses.
Encana Corp., Canada's largest natural gas producer, reported an 84.5% drop in operating profit for the fourth quarter, hurt by a fall in natural gas production and weak oil prices.
Canadian auto parts behemoth Magna International cut its revenue forecast for 2015, hurt by weak demand from Europe.
CIBC cut the price target on Bank of Montreal to $83.00 from $84.00
CIBC then raised the price target on Catamaran Corp. to $77.50 from $62.00
HSBC raised the rating on IAMGOLD Corp. to overweight from underweight
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.17 points Tuesday to 692.06
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are kicking around the record levels set Tuesday, but there’s no guarantee the win streak will continue Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials doffed five points to 18,181. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,111.50, but futures for the NASDAQ dipped 6.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,443.50.
The Dow hit a new record Tuesday of 18,209.19.
Shares in HP are falling by about 8% pre-market after the tech company reported a slide in quarterly revenue and profit. CEO Meg Whitman noted that the company is struggling with the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar on sales overseas.
Campbell Soup, SodaStream, and Target are among the companies reporting earnings before the opening bell.
Salesforce.com and L Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, will report after the close.
On the economic front, the U.S. Census Bureau will report data on January sales of new homes at 10 a.m. ET.
Across the pond, HSBC's chairman and CEO are both expected to speak before members of the U.K. parliament about the company's latest Swiss tax scandal.
A report was published this month saying the bank concealed $100 billion U.S. in Swiss accounts and helped clients avoid paying taxes.
Elsewhere, the main index in Shanghai slipped 0.6%, despite a slightly-better-than-expected early reading of Chinese manufacturing activity. Investors continue to worry about prospects for the world's second largest economy.
Oil prices picked up 0.2% to $49.38 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained a dollar $1,209.10 U.S. an ounce.
