Futures in Toronto edged higher on Wednesday as oil futures recovered from one-month lows, rising more than 2% on hopes for an agreement among exporters to freeze output.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was 31.49 points down to close Tuesday at 13,304.66, with June futures pointing up 0.4%.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 76.08 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
Royal Bank of Canada faces shareholders at its annual meeting in Montreal on Wednesday amid concerns over its oil and gas exposure following an increase in bad loans in the first quarter.
Commodity miner and trader Glencore has agreed to sell 40% of its agricultural unit to Canada's state pension fund for $2.5 billion, the company's latest step to cut debt and soothe investor concerns about the impact of weak commodity prices.
RBC raises target price on Canadian Natural Resources to $40.00 from $39.00
Desjardins cut the rating on Metro Inc. to hold from buy
CIBC cut the target price on Hudson's Bay Co. to $23.00 from $30.00
On the economic front, Western University in London, Ontario is out later this morning with its seasonally-adjusted Ivey Purchasing
Managers Index.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange clung to gains of 0.71 points to end Tuesday at 583.46
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are pushing up Wednesday, amid a parade of news in the financial markets.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 32 points, or 0.2%, to 17,559, while futures for the S&P 500 picked up four points, or 0.2%, to 2,042.75. NASDAQ futures gathered 8.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,478.75.
Among major concerns, Monsanto and Constellation Brands are reporting results ahead of the open.
Bed Bath & Beyond will report its quarterly results after the markets close.
The $160-billion U.S. takeover deal between Pfizer and Allergan has fallen apart.
The breakup comes after the U.S. Treasury introduced new regulations on Monday designed to deter U.S. companies from merging with foreign firms in order to lower their American tax bill.
Shares in the Dublin-based Allergan dropped sharply Tuesday on expectations the deal would be nixed.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its latest meeting on monetary policy at 2 p.m. ET. Traders like to mine this release for insight into the Fed's views on the economy and its plans for interest rate levels.
Meantime, there's a relatively positive mood in European markets, while Asian markets ended the day with mixed results.
One of the biggest market movers of the day is Air France-KLM Group. Shares in the European carrier are down by about 3% after the company announced its CEO was leaving the firm for a new role.
Oil prices gained $1.02 to $36.91 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $10.53 to $1,220.82 U.S. an ounce.
