Stock futures for Canada's main index edged lower on Tuesday, taking cues from world markets, which took a breather after scaling a five-month high.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index hung onto gains of 44.02 points to finish Monday at 16,057.03
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.19 cents to 75.65 cents U.S. early Tuesday
March futures inched down 0.02% Tuesday.
Bank of Nova Scotia reported a lower-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by higher non-interest expenses and lower income from its domestic business.
Bank of Montreal reported a 10% increase in first quarter earnings, benefiting from a strong performance at its personal & commercial banking business in the United States.
Thomson Reuters on Tuesday reported a 9% rise in quarterly revenue, stripping out the impact of currency, helped by higher sales at its Legal and Tax & Accounting businesses.
RBC raised the price target on Alimentation Couche-Tard to $86.00 from $80.00
RBC raised the price target on George Weston to $139.00 from $138.00
CIBC cut the rating on Trevali Mining to neutral from outperform.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged forward 0.46 points Monday to 623.73
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were lower Tuesday morning, as investors reacted to a downgrade of Caterpillar shares and a miss on Home Depot earnings.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 82 points, or 0.3%, at 26,021.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 4.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,792.75
NASDAQ futures faded 19 points, or 0.3%, to 7,106.75
Home Depot surprised investors in pre-market trading, posting quarterly earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations. Investors were also rattled by a rare "sell" rating issued by UBS on shares of Caterpillar, citing concerns about 2020 revenue and margins. UBS also cited slowing global construction demand for its Caterpillar downgrade. Home Depot shares fell 2.4% before the bell while Caterpillar dropped 3.7%.
In corporate news, Macy's is also set to publish its latest quarterly results shortly before the opening bell.
Meanwhile, Mylan, IMAX and Papa John's are all scheduled to report their results after market close.
Market focus was also attuned to global trade developments, after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay a tariff hike of $200 billion of Chinese imports. The announcement marked the clearest sign yet that Washington and Beijing were making progress in their protracted dispute.
On the data front, investors are likely to monitor housing starts and building permits for December at around 8:30 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Fed manufacturing figures for February is expected to be released at the same time, with consumer confidence data for February due later in the session.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.4% Tuesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 0.7%.
Oil prices strengthened 23 cents to $55.71 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $3.60 to $1,325.90 U.S. an ounce.
