Stock futures pointed to a flat opening for markets in Canada’s largest centre on Wednesday as investors awaited a report on gross domestic product (GDP) to gauge the health of the economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished 49.56 points lower at Tuesday’s closing bell at 15,372.35. June futures nicked up 0.08% early Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.05 cents to 74.28 cents U.S. early Wednesday.
The struggles of Canadian lender Home Capital Group are pushing more borrowers towards less regulated mortgage providers, raising the risks for them and the wider property market.
Barclays raises price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $86.00 from $84.00, with an overweight rating
CIBC cut the rating on Redknee Solutions to neutral from outperform
National Bank of Canada starts coverage on Step Energy Services with an outperform rating
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported Canada’s GDP hiked 0.5% in March, following no change in February. Growth was widespread across goods and service-producing industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 4.78 points Tuesday to 804.96
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Wednesday, as investors geared up for more data, while keeping a close eye on what's happening in the political sphere globally.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 42 points, or 0.2%, to 21,057. Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 5.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,416.25. NASDAQ futures advanced 24 points, or 0.4%, to 5,816.
On the earnings front, Michael Kors saw its stock decline more than 4% after posting quarterly results. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Box are slated to report after the close.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is set to release its latest installment of the Beige Book, slated to come out at 2 p.m. ET.
The report comes just weeks before the Fed is set to meet to discuss its monetary policy, with many analysts pricing in an interest rate hike at its June meeting.
Elsewhere in data, investors will be on the lookout for the latest Chicago Purchasing Managers Index figures, due out at 9:45 a.m. ET, followed by pending home sales, which is expected at 10 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, European stock markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday despite political uncertainty. Sterling was under pressure on Wednesday after a poll suggested late Tuesday that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and her Conservative party could fall short of winning a majority at the upcoming general election, due next Thursday.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index subsided 0.1% Wednesday, while Shanghai’s CSI 300 returned to trading after a long weekend to gain 0.4%.
Oil prices subtracted $1.04 to $48.62 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices added three dollars to $1,268.70 U.S. an ounce.
