Stock futures pointed to a lower open for Canada's main stock index on Thursday as investors worried that trade wars will harm economic growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped 48.84 points to finish Wednesday at 16,231.25
The Canadian dollar added 0.2 cents to 75.2 cents U.S. early Thursday
June futures moved downward 0.2% Thursday
Labour representatives at Hudson's Bay German department store chain Kaufhof are expected to put the brakes on restructuring talks in the face of reports about a possible joint venture with Austria's Signa.
Desjardins cut the target price on Corus Entertainment to $6.50 from $9.50
Raymond James raised the target price on Stuart Olson to $9.00 from $8.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reports average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $995 in April, virtually unchanged compared with the previous month. In the 12 months to April, earnings were up 2.5%.
The agency adds, that after rising rapidly from August to December 2017, earnings have been relatively stable since the start of 2018.
The effects of U.S. tariffs and tighter mortgage rules will "figure prominently" in the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision in July, but central bank Governor Stephen Poloz kept markets guessing on Wednesday on whether it would be a hike or a hold.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 8.19 points Wednesday to 736.90
ON WALLSTREET
Stock index futures went for a spill ahead of Thursday’s open, as worries over trade tension kept those indexes in check.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials faded 90 points, or 0.4%, to 24,045
S&P 500 futures docked nine points, or 0.3%, to 2,696, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index faltered 29.75 points, or 0.4%, to 6,968.50
Newly-minted Dow component Walgreens Boots Alliance slipped 0.8% in the pre-market after reporting weaker-than-expected same-store sales. The company, however, also reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
Markets around the world continued their roller-coaster ride Thursday, as concerns surrounding a potential trade war between the U.S. and major other economies rattled investors.
Elsewhere, economic data and corporate earnings due included real gross domestic product (GDP) data at 8:30 a.m. ET, jobless claims also due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the Kansas City Fed’s manufacturing survey at 11 a.m. ET.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped just more than one point Tuesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.5%.
Oil prices dipped 25 cents to $72.51 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices lost $3.50 to $1,252.60 U.S. an ounce.
Futures Tumble Before Open
