Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for equity markets in Toronto on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air strikes onYemen.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 151.89 points, or 1%, to close Wednesday at 14,929.37. June futures listed lower by 0.1% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.53 cents to 80.45 cents U.S. early Thursday.
A senior executive at BCE Inc's Bell Media unit apologized on Wednesday for interfering in editorial coverage after Canada biggest communications company was harshly rebuked by the country's broadcast regulator.
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said three Canadian National Railway derailments in the same area in three weeks are a significant problem which cannot be explained away. CIBC, meanwhile, upped the target on CN to $91.00 from $87.00
CIBC also hiked the target price on rival Canadian Pacific to $255.00 from $242.00
Canaccord raised the target price on Dollarama to $76.00 from $70.00
Warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck Shi'ite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen's president on Thursday, a gamble by the world's top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington.
On the economic calendar, the number of Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits numbered 496,600 in January – roughly the same as the month before, according to figures released this morning by Statistics Canada
The agency also says, compared with January 2014, the number of beneficiaries decreased by 14,200 or 2.8%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 3.04 points Wednesday to 677.24
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are continuing their drop from Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 121 points, or 0.7%, to 17,528. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 13.25 points, or 0.7%, to 2,040.50, and futures for the NASDAQ dipped 45.25 points, or 1.1%, to 4,278.25.
The world's biggest and most powerful oil producing nation -- Saudi Arabia -- has launched airstrikes in neighboring Yemen, where rebels have intensified a violent campaign against the government. Saudi Arabia says it has the support of nine mostly Arab countries.
Shares in Delta and American Airlines are both declining pre-market by about 4%. Lufthansa shares continued to decline in the wake of Tuesday's Germanwings crash in the French Alps.
Shares in SanDisk are taking a major hit -- down by about 14% pre-market -- after the technology company warned it will bring in lower-than-expected revenue in the first quarter.
Shares in oil field services firm Schlumberger are rising by about 1% pre-market. This comes after the U.S. Department of Justice said a Schlumberger subsidiary has been fined $233 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and Sudan.
Apparel retailer Lululemon and consulting firm Accenture are reporting quarterly results ahead of the open.
Gamestop will report after the close.
The U.S. government will post data on jobless claims this morning.
European markets are all declining by about 1% to 2% in early trading.
Most Asian markets closed with losses.
Oil prices jumped $1.96 to $51.17 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices spiked $10.50 to $1,207.50 U.S. an ounce.
