Markets in Toronto are hoping to escape 2015 with some air of dignity, after what’s been a rough year, mostly due to plummets in the oil patch.
The S&P/TSX composite index faltered 103.46 points to finish Wednesday at 13,142.29. Thursday futures were unavailable at press time.
The Canadian dollar was virtually unchanged at 72.03 cents U.S. early Thursday
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.66 points Wednesday to 520.86
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are lower ahead of the last trading day of 2015.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 40 points, or 0.2%, to 17,469, futures for the S&P 500 dropped five points, or 0.2%, to 2,049.5. NASDAQ futures slipped 10.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,635.75
The weekly jobless claims report is due this morning from the U.S. Department of Labor.
At 9:45 a.m., the results from December's Chicago business survey are due from the Institute for Supply Management. The key index, Chicago PMI, dipped below 50 again last month to a disappointing 48.7.
European markets are shut or closing early. London is down in light trading while Frankfurt and Paris are closed until Monday. Asia ended Thursday mixed.
Oil prices sank 27 cents to $36.33 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices lost 40 cents to $1,061.04 U.S. an ounce.
