Futures for Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, supported by higher oil prices as a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories buoyed hopes for a recovery in demand.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faltered 40.01 points to close Tuesday 16,121.32.
September futures were up 0.4% Wednesday.
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.07 cents Wednesday to 74.80 cents U.S.
Sun Life Financial expects Asia's contribution to its income to rise to about 25% in five to six years, from 18% now, driven by its push to sell insurance products via digital channels and higher demand after the coronavirus pandemic.
Royal Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it reached a mutual agreement to end all sponsorships with and donations to Canada's WE Charity, which has been drawn into controversy surrounding an ethics inquiry into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Credit Suisse raised the target price on Altagas to $18.00 from $17.00
Canaccord Genuity raises target price on Dundee Precious Metals to $11.25 from $10.5
Credit Suisse raises target price on TransAlta to $11.50 from $10
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 1.32 points Tuesday to 707.79.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were little changed early Wednesday as investors awaited a congressional hearing on antitrust in Big Tech as well as the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials gained 44 points, or 0.2%, early Wednesday, to 26,341.
Futures for the S&P 500 hiked 9.25 points, or 0.3%, at 3,222.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ took on 61.5 points, or 0.6%, to 10,601.50.
The Fed will conclude its two-day policy meeting Wednesday and is set to release a statement at 2 p.m. ET. Chairman Jerome Powell will have a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The central bank is expected to keep short-term interest rates unchanged at near zero to support the economy still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, the Fed announced it would extend its emergency lending programs through the remainder of 2020.
Meanwhile, the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet will testify before the House Antitrust Subcommittee later Wednesday following a yearlong probe into their anti-competitive practices. Investors will look for insights on how the Big Tech is handling antitrust challenges from regulators with the authority to break them up.
Shares of Big Tech are among the best performers this year. Facebook and Alphabet are both up more than 12% year to date entering Wednesday’s session. Amazon has skyrocketed 62.4% over that time and Apple is up 27%.
The busiest week of the earnings season continued, with General Electric and Boeing releasing their latest quarterly figures. GE reported a stronger-than-forecast revenue, sending the stock up 1.6% in the premarket. Boeing posted a wider-than-expected loss and the stock traded 0.5% lower.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices popped more than 1% after the chipmaker posted on Tuesday better-than-expected quarterly earnings and issued an upbeat guidance for the year.
Starbucks swung to a loss during its fiscal third quarter, but the world’s largest coffee chain raised its forecast for the current quarter, sending shares up more than 5% in extended trading.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 sank 1.2% while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.5%.
Oil prices improved 42 cents to $41.46 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $8.70 to $1,953.50.
