Futures for Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday, as oil prices dipped on the last trading day of the year, while investors focused on fading prospects for bigger U.S. stimulus cheques.
The TSX held onto gains of 2.38 points Wednesday to 17,545.81.
The Canadian dollar nosed up 0.08 cents to 78.50 cents U.S.
March futures docked 0.1% Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 6.27 points Wednesday to 865.26.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were largely flat early Thursday morning as Wall Street prepared for the final day of the year.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials acquired but 14 points, or 0.1%, to 30,316.
Futures for the S&P 500 crept higher 3.25 points, or 0.1%, at 3,727.50
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite gained 22 points, or 0.2%, to 12,863.50.
The muted move in futures comes at the end of a relatively quiet week on Wall Street, capping a remarkable year for the stock market.
Equities fell sharply in February and March as the COVID pandemic spread outside of China. The S&P 500 suffered its most rapid 30% drawdown on record.
But after bottoming out in late March, and amid unprecedented action by the Federal Reserve to shore up the credit markets, stocks rebounded dramatically and have ripped off a series of record highs before the end of year.
Ahead of the final session of 2020, the tech-heavy NASDAQ has gained 43.4% year to date, while the S&P 500 has skyrocketed 15.5% and the Dow has risen 6.6%.
The latest leg higher for the market has been fueled by the rollout of vaccines and a new economic relief package from Congress, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked efforts to increase the amount of direct stimulus payments to $2,000 from $600.
Investors will get a key piece of economic data on Thursday morning with the latest report on initial jobless claims. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting 828,000 initial claims, which would be a slight increase from the previous reading and still dramatically higher than before the pandemic.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.3%. Markets in Japan were closed.
Oil prices doffed 44 cents to $47.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $4.60 at $1,898 U.S.
