Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Thursday, as oil prices fell for a sixth straight day and the Bank of Canada warned of "very choppy" growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite gathered 39.22 points to close Wednesday at 13,923.45, ending a five-day losing streak for the gauge that sent it down 3.4% to a one-month low.
The Canadian dollar backpedaled 0.58 cents to 76.87 cents early Thursday
WestJet Airlines said Wednesday it would consider a slightly larger version of Boeing Co's 737 MAX 7 jet with more seats, as the carrier prepares to take delivery of 65 narrowbodies from the planemaker through 2027.
NBF raises the rating on Alterra Power to outperform from sector perform
NBF also raised the target price on Corus Entertainment to $12.50 from $11.50
CIBC raised the rating on Transcontinental Inc. to outperform from sector perform.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported foreign investment in Canadian securities amounted to $15.5 billion in April. Meanwhile, Canadian investors acquired $4.7 billion of foreign securities, mainly debt instruments.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 6.28 points to finish Wednesday at 714.03
ON WALLSTREET
Wall Street looks set for a sixth consecutive day of losses, as U.S. stock futures are pointing down.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 68 points, or 0.4%, to 17,484, while futures for the S&P 500 fell nine points, or 0.4%, to 2,054.50. NASDAQ futures slid 21.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,384.
Kroger and Rite Aid will post quarterly earnings updates ahead of the opening bell.
After the close, investors will hear from Oracle and gun maker Smith & Wesson
Investors will be waiting to see if Smith & Wesson executives say anything about an increase in demand for guns following the Orlando massacre. Gun sales in the U.S. tend to spike after high-profile shootings as people worry that stricter gun control laws could follow.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will post its latest inflation data for May this morning, following the release of monthly inflation data from the 18-member euro-zone.
At around the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor will post weekly jobless claims data.
European markets are declining in early trading and Asian markets ended the day in negative territory.
Investors are watching a flurry of central bank announcements from the U.S., Japan and Switzerland. The Bank of England is also set to make a policy announcement Thursday, with most investors expecting rates to be held steady.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would not raise interest rates and cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth in 2016 to 2%, down from 2.2%.
Then the Bank of Japan refrained from announcing further stimulus measures for the economy, which caused the yen to surge. One U.S. dollar is now worth 104 yen, a high the Japanese currency has not seen since 2014. This pushed the benchmark Nikkei index down by 3%.
The Swiss National Bank kept its interest rates steady and reiterated that the Swiss franc was overvalued.
Oil prices eased 70 cents to $47.31 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices jumped $16.30 to $1,308.05 U.S. an ounce.
