Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Thursday as gold prices rose, while investors focused on a host of earnings from companies including Bombardier Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index nosed higher nine points to conclude Wednesday at 15,627.93
The Canadian dollar moved forward 0.18 cents to 77.85 cents U.S. early Thursday
June futures gained 0.2% Thursday
Bombardier – the plane and train maker – has agreed to sell its Toronto aircraft assembly site to a pension fund as it strives to raise extra cash under a five-year recovery plan.
Crescent Point Energy reported a first-quarter loss as it sold Canadian crude at a bigger discount.
Canadian Natural Resources reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher oil sands production.
CIBC raised the target price on CGI Group to $83.00 from $80.00
Barclays raised the target price on Suncor Energy to $60.00 from $54.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said our country’s imports rose 6.0% to a record $51.7 billion in March. Exports also increased, up 3.7% to $47.6 billion.
As a result, said the agency, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2.9 billion in February to a record $4.1 billion in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 3.35 points Wednesday to 772.11
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday morning, amid waning hopes of real progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 108 points, or 0.5%, to 23,717.
S&P 500 futures lost 8.25 points, or 0.3%, to 2,619.25, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index ditched 25.5 points, or 0.4%, to 6,608
The moves in pre-market trade come ahead of much-anticipated talks between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
Shortly before the talks were set to take place in Beijing, the mood between the world's two largest economies worsened amid reports the U.S. administration is considering taking executive action to restrict some Chinese firms' ability to sell telecoms equipment.
In economic news, jobless claims for the week ending April 28 posted were due at 8:30 a.m. ET, while services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) data for April and factory orders for March are scheduled to be published during mid-morning trade.
Japanese markets were shuttered for holiday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index plunged 1.3%. European markets dived about 0.3%
Oil prices lost five cents to $67.88 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices gained $11.20 to $1,310.50 U.S. an ounce.
