Canada's main stock index futures rose on Thursday as countries around the world continued to ease lockdown measures, and tensions between China and the U.S. failed to dampen investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index survived earlier losses and climbed 123.91 points to end Wednesday’s session at 15,247.43
The Canadian dollar ducked 0.02 cents early Thursday to 72.66 cents U.S.
June futures gained 0.3% Thursday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a 70% slump in quarterly profit, as it set aside more money to cover potential loan-losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
TD Bank Group reported a 52% fall in quarterly profit, as Canada's second-biggest lender by market value set aside more money to cover loan losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enbridge Inc said on Wednesday coating repairs were under way at its Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, as exposed metal spots were found during seasonal maintenance that began in May.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Aecon Group to $19.00 from $22.00
RBC cut the target price on Bank of Montreal to $75.00 from C$76.00
Jefferies raised the target price on Enbridge to $49.00 from $47.00
Credit Suisse raise the target price on Royal Bank of Canada to $101 from $100
On the economic sheet, Statistics Canada said payroll employment in Canada decreased in March by 914,500, or 5.4%, compared with February, in line with the 5.3% decrease in total employment observed in the Labour Force Survey.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.67 points Wednesday to 541.10.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. market indexes edged higher early Thursday as investors looked to add to Wall Street’s robust gains so far this week.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials continued on their roll, gaining 144 points, or 0.6%, early Thursday, to 25,678.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 3,037.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slipped 86.5 points, or 0.9%, to 9,346.
The S&P 500 has improved 2.7%, the NASDAQ 0.9%, and the Dow 4.4% since the start of the holiday-shortened week. The Dow is on track for its best week since the week ended April 8.
Equity of companies that stand to benefit the most under reopenings, such as the airlines and retailers, led the major indexes higher Tuesday and Wednesday. Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Gap all rose at least 14% on Wednesday while Delta Airlines rose 2.6%, while American took on 7.5%, Alaska picked up 2% and United rose 3.8%.
Meanwhile, those stocks that outperformed as stay-at-home orders went into effect in March have lagged in recent sessions. Zoom Video dropped 1.2%; Shopify fell 2.3% Wednesday, while Amazon lost 0.6%,and Teladoc Health fell 1.1%.
The Department of Labor is scheduled to release the latest update to initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning. Though economists polled by Dow Jones expect the government to announce yet another deceleration in the pace of claims, the consensus estimate predicts another 2.05 million Americans filed for insurance during the week ended May 23.
Gains were kept in check after China’s National People’s Congress approved a national security bill for Hong Kong. The bill will bypass Hong Kong’s legislature, raising concerns over the longevity of Hong Kong’s “one party, two systems” principle, which allows additional freedoms mainland China does not have.
Overseas, in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 2.3%, Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Sang index retreated 0.7%.
Oil prices sank 25 cents to $32.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $12.00 to $1,738.80 U.S. an ounce.
