Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Wednesday as oil prices rose, while investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meet and a reading on monthly retail sales data later in the day.
The TSX gained squeezed up 4.53 points to close out Tuesday at 19,175.09.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.10 cents Wednesday to 80.71 cents U.S.
June futures were up 0.3% Wednesday.
Shopify reported a 110% jump in first-quarter revenue that also trounced analysts’ estimates, as its e-commerce platform profited from the past year’s COVID-19 driven boom in online selling.
Teck Resources reported a 246.8% jump in first-quarter adjusted profit, driven by higher copper prices as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts help open up economies, boosting demand for raw materials.
CIBC raised the target price on Exchange Income Corp. to $42.00 from $39.50.
Jefferies raised the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $47.00 from $45.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported retail sales were up 4.8% to $55.1 billion in February. Sales increased in nine of 11 sub-sectors, led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says the central bank is expecting strong consumption-led growth in the second half of the year as vaccinations against COVID-19 continue.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 3.22 points Tuesday to 946.61.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are mixed on Wednesday as investors digested major technology earnings and geared up for the latest Federal Reserve policy announcement.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 75 points, or 0.2%, to 33,808, losing some altitude following the release of Boeing’s results.
Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.5 points to 4,179.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index slumped 23 points, or 0.2%, to 13,930.
Google parent Alphabet reported better-than-expected earnings after the bell on Tuesday, sending shares of the tech giant up more than 5% in pre-market trading. Alphabet saw its revenues grow 34% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, Microsoft shares dipped about 2% in early trading even after the company topped analyst earnings. Microsoft had its largest revenue growth since 2018, thanks in part to gains in PC sales resulting from coronavirus-driven shortages last year.
Shares of AMD and Visa were higher in early trading after better-than-expected results.
Boeing lost about 1% in pre-market trading after posing its sixth straight quarterly loss.
Boosting sentiment about the economic recovery from the pandemic, Starbucks raised its full-year outlook as U.S. same-store sales growth returns to pre-pandemic levels. Starbucks shares were 1.5% lower in the pre-market however.
Technology darlings Apple and Facebook both report earnings on Wednesday after the bell.
The Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is not expected to take any action, but economists expect it to defend its policy to let inflation run hot on a temporary basis.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET, 30 minutes after the decision is announced, and those comments could move markets.
Elsewhere, President Joe Biden is set to unveil later on Wednesday a $1.8 trillion plan in new spending and tax credits geared toward helping families.
The Biden administration’s new spending plan would hike the top income tax rate to 39.6% for the wealthiest Americans and raise taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for households making more than $1 million, according to senior administration officials. Stocks took a hit initially last week when reports of this tax hike began to surface.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 0.2% early Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.5%.
Oil prices popped 58 cents to $63.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $14.40 to $1,764.40 U.S.