Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for markets in Toronto on Thursday as oil prices gained on concerns over renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran and falling Venezuelan output.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 32.75 points, and close Wednesday at 15,509.75
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents to 77.88 cents U.S. early Thursday
June futures picked up 0.1% Thursday.
Husky Energy reported a jump in quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by lower costs.
Precision Drilling, reported a smaller quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by a 36% rise in the number of active rigs in the United States.
Unionized pilots at Canada's WestJet Airlines started voting on a strike authorization on Wednesday, saying an agreement with WestJet management is yet to be reached.
CIBC raised the target price on TFI International to $39.00 from $36.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said average weekly earnings were of non-farm payroll employees were $997.00 in February, little changed from the previous month. Earnings were up 3.4% compared with 12 months earlier, largely the result of gains in the second half of 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 5.45 points Wednesday to 783.79
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as earnings season continued to shower the markets with fresh financial updates from leading corporates.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average got lift of 55 points, or 0.2%, to 24,133.
S&P 500 futures gained 8.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,653, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index improved 50.5 points, or 0.8%, to 6,606.25
Facebook and Chipotle Mexican Grill reported better-than-expected earnings Wednesday after the close, sending Facebook’s stock higher by 6.6% and Chipotle’s by 12.5%. On Thursday, UPS, American Airlines, and ConocoPhillips all posted earnings that beat estimates.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to host its next Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to the U.S. open, the ECB will release its interest rate and monetary policy decisions, and then follow this up with a press conference.
While investors expect the ECB to hold firm on its current rate strategy, the press conference will be watched closely to see what President Mario Draghi says in regards to the economic state of the euro zone. Other topics that Draghi could touch upon include trade, monetary policy, bonds and the euro.
Looking to economic data, jobless claims, durable goods and advance economic indicators are all due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by housing vacancies at 10 a.m. ET and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index at 11 a.m. ET
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index languished 1.1%.
Oil prices picked up 61 cents to $68.66 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter 80 cents to $1,323.60 U.S. an ounce.
