Futures for Canada’s main stock index jumped on Tuesday on higher gold prices and as drugmakers sought swift approval of their COVID-19 vaccines, boosting hopes of a recovery from the pandemic-induced economic downturn.
The TSX lost 206.31 points, or 1.2%, to close Monday at 17,190.25.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.14 cents Tuesday at 77.10 cents U.S.
December futures advanced 1.4% Tuesday.
Canada’s budget deficit is forecast to hit an historic $381.6 billion on COVID-19 emergency aid, with the federal government eyeing C$100 billion in stimulus to be rolled out once the virus is under control.
Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal beat analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter profit as they set aside less funds than expected to cover potential loan losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the macroeconomic front, Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product grew 0.8% in September as 16 of 20 industrial sectors were up in the month
Markit Canada is due out (9:30 a.m. EST) with its monthly manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.22 points to finish Monday at 750.42.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures jumped on Tuesday, indicating the Dow Jones Industrial Average will start December continuing its historic rally from November.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials Index hiked 312 points, or 1.1%, to 29,941.
Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 35 points, or 1%, at 3,658.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite vaulted 106.75 points, or 0.9%, to 12,383.75.
The Dow rallied 11.8% in November, posting its best one-month performance since January 1987. The S&P 500 climbed 10.8% and the NASDAQ rose 11.8%, for their strongest monthly advances since April. After November’s gain, the S&P 500 is up 12.1% for 2020.
November’s rally came amid a slew of positive coronavirus vaccine news, which lifted hope of a strong economic recovery. In the latest development on that front, Pfizer and BioNTech applied to the European Medicines Agency for conditional marketing authorization of their coronavirus vaccine, potentially enabling the vaccine to be used in Europe before the end of 2020.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are speaking before Congress this week. Powell called the U.S. economic outlook “extraordinarily uncertain” in prepared remarks to be delivered Tuesday.
Tesla’s shares popped 4% in pre-market trading after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the electric-car maker will be added to the S&P 500 on Dec. 21 in a single step despite its large size. The index provider had considered adding the $500 billion stock in multiple phases.
Shares of Zoom Video fell 5.1% in after-hours trading despite the video-conferencing giant reporting better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 1.3% Tuesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index headed higher 0.9%
Oil prices settled 26 cents to $45.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $31.00 to $1,811.90 U.S.