Futures for Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday as crude prices weakened, while simmering geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine dented risk sentiment in global equities.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained negative 118.91 points to wind up business Wednesday at 21,383.64.
The Canadian dollar squeaked 0.08 cents to 78.77 cents U.S.
March futures were down 0.4% Thursday.
Nutrien said on Wednesday a surge in prices of potash due to robust global
demand and thin supply would boost its profit in 2022, sending
its U.S. shares more than 5% higher in extended trading.
CIBC raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $158.00 from $145.00
National Bank of Canada resumes coverage on Equitable Group with outperform rating
CIBC raised the rating on Keyera Corp to outperform from neutral
Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused government forces of opening fire on their territory four times in the past 24 hours. The incidents come as Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine’s borders, raising fears of an invasion.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $37.6 billion in December, the largest investment since April 2020. At the same time, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities by $21.3 billion, led by purchases of U.S. instruments.
The Bank of Canada will be nimble and potentially “forceful” in tackling uncomfortably high inflation, setting the stage for an aggressive campaign of interest rate increases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.61 points Wednesday to 870.06.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures dipped in early morning trading Thursday but were off their lows as strong earnings from Walmart helped boost sentiment.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials faded 89 points, or 0.3%, to 34,754.
Futures for the S&P 500 faltered 19.25 points, or 0.4%, to 4,450.75
Futures for the NASDAQ slid 84.5 points, or 0.6%, to 14,515.50.
A slew of companies reported quarterly results after the bell Wednesday. DoorDash surged more than 26% in pre-market trading after reporting a loss while saying revenue rose and issuing upbeat guidance. Cisco rose 3.5% after also topping estimates and raising guidance, and Applied Materials added 2%.
In early earnings action, Walmart topped expectations and reaffirmed guidance, sending shares up 1.7% in premarket trading and helping to stem losses for futures. Investors also are awaiting quarterly reports from Airbus, Autonation and Nestle.
Weekly jobless claims numbers will also be released Thursday morning. Initial filings for unemployment benefits are expected to total 218,000, according to a Dow Jones estimate.
That would be a slight decline from the week before. The market also will get a look at housing starts and building permits as well as the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.8%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.3%
Oil prices dropped 57 cents to $93.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $19.90 to $1,891.40 U.S. an ounce.