Futures for equities in Canada advanced, with commodities-related stocks leading global markets higher as a softer U.S. dollar helped lift oil and metal prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite inched up 11.53 points to close Monday at 14,596.52
The Canadian dollar added 0.23 cents to 76.4 cents U.S. early Tuesday.
In company news, William Hill and Amaya have abandoned merger talks, leaving the British bookmaker struggling to find a partner in a fast consolidating industry.
Yamana Gold said on Monday it plans to spin off its Brio Gold subsidiary, which owns non-core gold mining properties in Brazil, as a standalone public company to its shareholders.
RBC raised the target price on Enerplus to $12.00 from $11.00, citing the company’s capable management team, solid balance sheet, and impressive operating performance.
Canaccord Genuity started coverage on Gear Energy with a speculative buy rating, after the company reduced capex and cut costs over the past year.
National Bank Financial cut the target price on Intact Financial Corp. to $98 from $99, due to severe weather conditions which breached the company’s catastrophe threshold.
Barclays raised the target price on Rogers Communications to $55.00 from $53.00, after the company appointed industry veteran Joe Natale as CEO, who has a strong track record.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported manufacturing in this country increased 0.9% to $51.1 billion in August, reflecting higher sales of food, primary metal, and petroleum and coal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange finished negative 0.74 points Monday to 772.28
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as investors digested another batch of corporate earnings, while keeping an eye out for news on oil, the Federal Reserve and new data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 84 points, or 0.5%, to 18,097, while futures for the S&P 500 increased 12.5 points, or 0.6%, to 2,135.5. NASDAQ futures leaped 35.5 points, or 0.7%, at 4,838.75.
Earnings are set to be front and center, as big U.S. brands are set to report. Out of the group, investors will be watching closely for financial news out of Intel, and Yahoo.
BlackRock reported mixed results, missing estimates on revenue but beating on profits. Meanwhile, Dow component Johnson & Johnson posted better-than-expected earnings and sales. The firm also raised its full-year guidance.
Goldman Sachs, another Dow component, also beat Wall Street expectations, continuing banks' strong earnings season. On Monday, Bank of America also reported better-than-expected corporate results.
UnitedHealth Group, Harley-Davidson and Comerica were also among the firms that posted quarterly results.
Investors look towards the Fed's Beige Book release, due out on Wednesday. Ahead of that, consumer price index data for September came in line with expectations, while the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey is due out today at 10 a.m. ET.
European stocks posted strong gains, while Asia-Pacific indexes mostly ended in positive territory overnight.
Oil prices gathered 27 cents to $50.21 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $4.60 to $1,261.20 U.S. an ounce.
