Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged lower on Thursday, as markets digested mixed signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while gains in gold and crude prices limited the decline.
The TSX slid 52.88 points to close Wednesday at 20,354.68
June futures on the S&P/TSX index faded 0.2% Thursday morning.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.13 cents to 73.48 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources narrowly missed analysts’ estimates for first-quarter profit, as lower energy prices more than offset a rise in production for the country’s largest oil and gas producer.
First Horizon Corp and Toronto-Dominion Bank Group have agreed to call off their $13.4-billion deal on lack of clarity on if and when they would get regulatory approvals to close the deal.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada noted in March, Canada’s merchandise imports decreased 2.9%, while exports were down 0.7%. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade balance with the world moved from a revised $487 million deficit in February to a $972-million surplus in March.
Later on this morning (around 10 a.m.), the IVEY PMI for April will be released.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.32 points Wednesday to 606.11.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures dipped Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve hiked rates by another 25 basis points. Traders also grappled with returning contagion fears in the regional bank space.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 139 points, or 0.4%, at 33,356.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 17.5 points, or 0.4%, to 4,090.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite stepped back 18.75 points, or 0.1%, to 13,082.
Shares of PacWest tanked by more than 38% in premarket trading. The decline came after news that the California bank has been assessing strategic options, including a possible sale. Regional bank shares sold off hard, with Western Alliance tumbling 19.2% and Zions Bancorporation dropping 11.3%.
As the Fed pushed through its 10th rate hike in this cycle and the central bank seemed to soften its language on future increases, Chair Jerome Powell said that it may be too soon to cut.
Looming ahead are key economic reports that will inform the Fed’s next steps from here. Initial jobless claims are due Thursday. Friday’s main event will be April’s payrolls report, which economists polled by Dow Jones predict will rise by 180,000.
In terms of earnings, investors will be watching Apple, which is slated to post earnings after the market’s close, along with Lyft, DraftKings and Coinbase.
Markets in Japan were closed for holiday once again Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng moved higher 1.3%.
Oil prices eked up a penny to $68.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $12.50 to $2,024.70 U.S. an ounce.