Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Wednesday ahead of a key domestic inflation reading, while higher oil prices offered support to the commodity-heavy index.
The TSX Composite jumped 106.13 points to end Tuesday at 19,306.89.
Futures on the S&P/TSX index rose 0.5% Wednesday morning.
The Canadian dollar hesitated 0.14 cents to 73.38 cents U.S.
Among single stocks to look out for, BlackBerry said the sales cycles for its cybersecurity software have become longer and it expects the current macroeconomic environment to pose more challenges in the near term.
First Quantum Minerals fell more than 3% on Tuesday as the market awaited a response from the Canada-based miner to Panama’s order that it halt operations at a major copper mine in a dispute over taxes.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada’s consumer price index rose 6.8% on a year-over-year basis in November, following a 6.9% increase in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange pointed upward 4.25 points Tuesday to 562.45.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose on Wednesday after earnings reports from two major bellwethers raised hopes that corporate earnings may be better than feared even with a possible recession on the horizon.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials leaped 239 points, or 0.7%, early Wednesday to 33,292.
Futures for the S&P 500 captured 19 points, or 0.5%, to 3,868.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite picked up 34.25 points, or 0.3%, to 11,210.
Nike shares added 12% after the apparel maker beat Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings and revenue. FedEx gained 4.7% even as it fell short of revenue expectations. The package delivery giant beat consensus earnings per share estimates on per-share.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.7% Wednesday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.3%.
Oil prices gushed $1.64 to $77.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $1.20 to $1,824.20 U.S. an ounce.