Futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday ahead of a Bank of Canada policy announcement on interest rates.
The S&P/TSX composite index hoisted 166.23 points, or 1.2%, to close Tuesday at 13,636.06. Futures improved 0.3% Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.13 cents to 74.72 cents U.S. early Wednesday
Royal Bank of Canada reported an 11% rise in fourth-quarter profit that topped market expectations, driven by gains at its personal, commercial banking and capital markets businesses.
French Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron says train maker Alstom should use the proceeds of the sale of its energy unit to make acquisitions abroad and could consider a tie-up with Canadian rival Bombardier.
A group representing auto-parts makers said Tuesday that the newly-minted Trudeau government should commit to a 12-nation Pacific Rim free-trade deal inked by the country's former leaders, but it also must invest further in local auto assembly.
Raymond James cut the target price on Empire Company to market perform from outperform, and the target price to $28.00 from $31.00
Kepler Cheuvreux raised the rating on Lundin Mining to buy from reduce.
National Bank raised the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $67.00 from $65.00
On matters economic, the Bank of Canada is out this morning with its rate announcement at 10 this morning. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates at 0.5%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.04 points to finish Tuesday at 520.43.
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ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are hoping to firm Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones faded 17 points, or 0.1%, to 17,845, futures for the S&P 500 lopped off 0.25 points to 2,099.75, and futures for the NASDAQ moved forward 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,719.
Shares in Yahoo are surging by about 8% pre-market based on a report that the firm is considering selling its pioneering Internet business after failing to turn it around.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Yahoo's board will meet several times this week, during which the company's directors will consider whether to sell Yahoo's lucrative stake in Alibaba, the company's core Internet business, or both.
Brown-Forman, maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey, will post quarterly results before the open.
After the close, a number of retailers will be reporting results, including Aeropostale, New York & Co and PVH, the parent company behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
The head of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, is scheduled to speak today at 12:30 p.m. ET at the Economic Club in Washington, DC.
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Investors and economists alike will be monitoring her talk to glean more information about her views on the U.S. economy and her plans for future interest rate hikes.
The latest Fed Beige Book will be released at 2 p.m., giving detailed information about the state of the U.S. economy.
Investors will also be watching for the November ADP employment report this morning.
Experts say if the ADP data is better than expected, this will be the latest sign that the Federal Reserve will raise rates before the end of the year
Over in European markets, the mood is positive and most of the main indexes are edging up in early trading.
Asian markets ended with mixed results.
Oil prices docked 48 cents to $41.37 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices sagged $8.21 to $1,061.08 U.S. an ounce.
