Stock futures pointed to a higher start for markets in Canada as oil prices recovered from sharp losses in the previous session.
The S&P/TSX Composite climbed into positive territory 16.13 points to close Wednesday at 14,493.80
The Canadian dollar rallied 0.3 cents to 77.38 cents U.S. early Thursday
CIBC raised the target price on Birchcliff Energy to $10.00 from $7.00 based on the acquisition of EnCana's Gordondale Montney asset by the company
Colabor Group reports Q2 earnings today, projecting seven cents per share
theScore projects a Q3 loss of two cents per share
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index rose 0.7% in May, following a 0.3% increase in April.
The agency calls this the largest monthly advance since July 2007, mainly driven by higher new housing prices in the combined region of Toronto and Oshawa and in Vancouver.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.1 points Wednesday to 757.69
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock-index futures traded off their highs on Thursday after the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged.
Even so, ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials spiked 154 points, or 0.8%, to 18.442, while futures for the S&P 500 gained 17.75 points, or 0.8%, to 2,163.75. NASDAQ futures vaulted 32 points, or 0.7%, to 4,593.25
Market consensus was for a 25-basis-point rate cut to 0.25%, which would have been the bank's first move since 2009.
The focus in the U.S. will be on second-quarter earnings and the latest weekly jobless claims. There will also be Producer Price Index (PPI) figures for June.
BlackRock posted quarterly results in line with expectations, while JPMorgan Chase easily beat estimates.
The Dow set a record high again on Wednesday, notching up a four-day winning streak. Gains followed overnight in Asian and in European equity trade early on Thursday. However, the Singapore Exchange was halted due to a systems glitch.
Oil prices gained 89 cents to $45.64 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dipped $16.90 at $1,326.70 U.S. an ounce.
