Stock futures indicated a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Thursday, driven by a jump in oil prices after data showed a marked reduction in U.S. crude stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite erased 16.37 points to close Wednesday at 14,796.65. September futures nosed ahead 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar was virtually unchanged at 77.62 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Desjardins cut the target price on New Gold Inc. to $7.00 from $7.25
Goldman Sachs raised the rating on Enbridge Inc. to buy from neutral on growth visibility
CIBC cut the rating on Hudson's Bay Co. to sector perform from outperform.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.5 billion in July, up 0.8% from the previous month, while the new housing price index rose 0.4% in July compared with the previous month, driven mainly by new housing prices in the combined region of Toronto and Oshawa
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange turned lower 3.49 points Wednesday o 821.89
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures traded flat on Thursday as traders digested developments in Europe, where the latest monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) took place.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials peeked up five points to 18,519, while futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.75 points at 2,185.25. NASDAQ futures eased 0.25 points at 4,828.50.
A range of billion-dollar deals have been announced over the past few hours. Top of the bill is an announcement from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and British software firm Micro Focus.
HPE is spinning off its "non-core" software business, which will be merged with Micro Focus in a transaction valued at $8.8 billion U.S. HPE shareholders will own 50.1% of the newly merged firm. Shares in Micro Focus are shooting up by about 21% in London.
Intel is spinning off its McAfee division into an independent company that it will jointly own with investment firm TPG. The transaction values the McAfee business at $4.2 billion U.S.
Intel bought McAfee in 2010 and re-branded the subsidiary as Intel Security. Now the McAfee name is coming back.
Shares in American home improvement retailer Tractor Supply Company are plunging by about 10% pre-market after the company lowered its sales expectations for the year.
It said customers in energy producing areas of the U.S. have been reining in their purchases.
Barnes & Noble and Navistar will report ahead of the open. The book distributor is expected to post another quarterly loss amid continued pressure from Amazon. Despite the red ink and management turmoil, Barnes & Noble stock price is up 42% this year.
Restoration Hardware and Zumiez will report after the close.
Economically speaking, initial U.S. jobless claims fell 4,000 to 259,000, with consumer credit due at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The ECB kept benchmark interest rates unchanged at zero and maintained its quantitative easing program at its current levels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is reporting weekly crude oil inventory data at 11 a.m. ET, which could affect the direction of energy trading.
European markets are mostly positive in early trading, while most Asian markets ended the day with small gains.
Oil prices acquired 75 cents to $46.25 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices inched upward 10 cents to $1,349.30 U.S. an ounce.
