Futures for Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, as oil prices strengthened after data showed signs of tightening supply in the United States.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 21.41 points to finish Wednesday at 15,484.55
The Canadian dollar faded 0.03 cents at 76.05 cents U.S. early Thursday
March futures grew 0.3% Thursday.
Alberta will ease its oil cut in February and March, earlier than expected, saying on Wednesday that its rare step to limit production had eased a glut of crude.
JP Morgan raised the target price on Canadian National Railway to $119.00 from $116.00
Morgan Stanley cut the target price on Imperial Oil to $42.00 from $51.00
Morgan Stanley raised the rating on MEG Energy to overweight from equal-weight.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Thursday that Gross Domestic Product in this country edged down 0.1% in November, partly offsetting an increase of 0.3% in October.
As well, the agency’s industrial product price fell 0.7% in December, mainly due to lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
The Raw Materials Price Index was up 3.8%, driven primarily by prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nicked higher 0.11 points Wednesday to 615.20
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed start to trading on Thursday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 46 points, or 0.2%, to 24,922
Futures for the S&P 500 eked higher 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,684
NASDAQ futures heightened 32.5 points, or 0.5%, to 6,869.75
On the earnings front, General Electric, MasterCard, UPS, Blackstone, Hershey, and Sprint are among the companies reporting before the bell. Meanwhile, Amazon and Yum China are among the companies reporting after the bell.
On Wednesday, the Fed said it will be "patient" with raising rates moving forward. In a statement, the central bank said: "The Committee will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate." The statement also dropped the word "gradual."
Meanwhile, investors also monitored weak China data. On Thursday, China’s official data showed that manufacturing activity in January contracted for the second consecutive month.
Back in the U.S., weekly jobless claims and an employment cost index are due early Thursday morning, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index data are due at 9:45 a.m., and new home sales data are expected at 10 a.m.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 galloped 1.1% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also hiked 1.1%
Oil prices took on a nickel to $54.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $12.20 to $1,327.70 U.S. an ounce.
