Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as oil rose above $50, holding near eight-week highs, as data showed U.S. inventories fell sharply last week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 73.68 points to close Tuesday at 15,202.37. September futures nosed up 0.2%
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.05 cents to 79.88 U.S. early Wednesday
Loblaw Companies said on Wednesday its quarterly profit more than doubled, helped in part by higher customer spending during the Easter holiday.
Canadian National Railway reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Tuesday, as the railroad moved higher volumes of commodities including Canadian grains and fertilizers.
Raymond James cut the price target on AGT Food and Ingredients to $32.00 from $35.00
RBC cut the target price on First National Financial to $25.00 from $27.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed positive 3.08 points Tuesday to 763.77.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday, as investors parsed through another batch of major earnings while awaiting a statement by the Federal Reserve
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow gained 72 points, or 0.3%, to 21,632. Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 4.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,478.75. NASDAQ futures improved 13.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,947
Boeing, Coca-Cola, Ford and Hershey are among the companies that reported before the bell. Whole Foods, Facebook and PayPal are some of the major names set to release earnings after the close.
On the central bank front, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to begin the second day of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, where the U.S. central bank is expected to continue to examine the state of the U.S. economy, and talk about what they should do next when it comes to strategy, their balance sheet and interest rates.
The U.S. central bank is set to publish its statement at 2 p.m. ET.
Aside from the FOMC decision, mortgage applications data came out early this morning, followed by new home sales at 10.00 a.m. ET.
On Tuesday night, a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare failed to acquire the 60 votes it needed in the Senate to be approved, with only 43 voting in favour. 57 voted against the measure.
European markets had made advances approaching noon Tuesday on the continent, while the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.5%, and Shanghai’s CSI 300 sank 0.4%.
Oil prices gained 46 cents to $48.35 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices dropped $5.90 to $1,246.20 U.S. an ounce.
