Futures Flat After OPEC+ Meeting

Futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Thursday after oil prices fell, as a meeting of the OPEC+ alliance yielded no discussion about deepening supply cuts.

The S&P/TSX Composite gained 73.8 points to close Wednesday at 16,611.14

The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 cents to 75.81 cents U.S. early Thursday

September futures eased 0.02% early Thursday.

Aurora Cannabis Inc pushed back its profitability timeline to fiscal 2020 on Wednesday after missing its earlier target of the fourth quarter, blaming the slow rollout of retail outlets for recreational marijuana.

Enbridge called on Canada's energy regulator on Wednesday to ignore calls from some of its shippers and avoid intervening in the pipeline company's contentious proposal to revamp contracts on its Mainline network.

CIBC cut the price target on Roots Corp. to $3.00 from $4.50

Scotiabank raised the price target on TMX Group to $130.00 from $122.00

On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported its new housing price index was down 0.1% at the national level for the third consecutive month in July.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.6 points Wednesday to 586.16

ON WALLSTREET

U.S. stock index futures were higher Thursday as investors cheered a delay to higher U.S. tariffs against Chinese imports along with a large bond buying program from Europe’s central bank.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials climbed 82 points, or 0.3%, early Thursday to 27,226

Futures for the S&P 500 poked ahead 8.75 points, or 0.3%, at 3,010.75

NASDAQ Composite futures jumped 44.75 points, or 0.6%, to 7,934.50

The Dow and S&P 500 entered Thursday’s session less than 1% from record highs reached in July. The Dow also closed above 27,000 on Wednesday for the first time since July 30 while the S&P 500 broke above 3,000 for the first time since July 31.

Chip maker stocks such as Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices and Skyworks Solutions all traded at least 0.3% higher in the pre-market. Apple gained 0.5%.

Elsewhere, investors digested the latest decision from policymakers at the European Central Bank. The ECB cut its deposit rate by 10 basis point and launched a new bond buying program. The bank will buy €20 billion worth of assets for as long as needed.

President Donald Trump agreed to delay an additional increase in tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks “as a gesture of good will.” The move raised hopes of a thaw in trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies.

Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% Thursday, while in the Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 0.3%

Oil prices faded 61 cents to $55.14 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices improved $16.90 to $1,520.10 U.S. an ounce.