Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Wednesday as investors worried about a full-scale U.S.-China trade war, and how Beijing will respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's policy moves.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index popped 96.13 points to finish Tuesday at 16,280.09
The Canadian dollar gained 0.05 cents to 75.22 cents U.S. early Wednesday
June futures dropped 0.1% Wednesday
Sun Life Financial expects to double its profit in Asia over the next five years on strong demand for insurance in key markets like China where it was keen to raise its ownership in a joint venture, its chief executive said.
Corus Entertainment on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street estimates, hit by weakness in its television business.
TD Securities cut the rating on CAP REIT to hold from buy
National Bank of Canada resumes coverage on Killam Apartment REIT with an outperform rating and $16.00 price target
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he wants North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations to resume as soon as possible, adding that while the Canadian economy was doing well tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum were a problem.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 5.18 points Tuesday to 745.09
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures indicated slight gains at the open on Wednesday, slashing steep losses from earlier in the day, as a crackdown on Chinese tech investments by the Trump administration was less restrictive than expected.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 31 points, or 0.1%, to 24,315
S&P 500 futures inched up 0.75 points to 2,729.25, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index edged up 0.5 points to 7,104.50.
Bed Bath & Beyond and General Mills are among those companies reporting earnings Wednesday
The government will rely on the newly-strengthened Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to deal with concerns about foreign purchase of sensitive domestic technologies, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that the White House would more actively restrict investment in technology firms by Chinese companies, but instead it appears it will rely on CIFUS.
Trade tensions have since ratcheted up another notch this week following reports that Washington intended on blocking some Chinese businesses from investing in U.S. technology. However, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called the reports "fake news."
The worries surrounding trade kept a lid on European market gains, with the Stoxx 600 hovering just above the flatline. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% Tuesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index let go of 1.8%.
Oil prices acquired 50 cents to $71.03 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices sagged a dollar to $1,256.70 U.S. an ounce.
