Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged up on Thursday, buoyed by gains in oil prices following a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and comments from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries about lower-than-expected U.S. shale production in 2020.
The TSX Composite Index jumped 48.61 points to close Wednesday at 16,957.99
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.09 cents to 75.37 cents U.S. early Thursday
December futures forged up 0.1% early Thursday.
OPEC said there would likely be downward revisions of supply going into 2020, especially from U.S. shale.
Canopy Growth reported a bigger quarterly loss on Thursday, as the Canadian pot producer was hit by restructuring charges.
CIBC raised the price target on CAE to $38.00 from $37.00
CIBC cut the rating on Mav Beauty Brands to neutral from outperform
CIBC raised the price target on Loblaw Companies to $80.00 from $77.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s new housing price index was up 0.2% nationally in September—the largest increase in two years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.69 points Wednesday at 530.63
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures indicated a flat open Thursday as a move to record highs took a pause amid persisting worries around U.S-China trade relations.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slumped 36 points, or 0.1%, early Thursday to 27,725.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 4.75 points, or 0.2%, at 3,090.75
The NASDAQ Composite sagged 17 points, or 0.2%, to 8,248.75.
In corporate news, Walmart reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations, sending its stock up more than 2% in the premarket. Nvidia, Applied Materials and Aurora Cannabis are poised to release their latest quarterly figures after market close.
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims were released this morning. The Labor Department is poised to report its producer price index for October at the same time.
At around 10 a.m. ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the House Budget Committee on the economic outlook.
In prepared remarks on Wednesday, Powell said the path of Fed interest rates is unlikely to change as long as the economy keeps growing.
Talks between the U.S. and China are thought to have hit a snag over agricultural purchases. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Beijing is resisting requests from the White House to curb tech transfers as well as enforcement mechanisms. China is also reportedly wary about committing to specific farm purchases from the U.S.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.8% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index sagged 0.9%.
Oil prices gained 43 cents to $57.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $5.50 to $1,468.80 U.S. an ounce.
