Futures for Canada’s main stock index advanced on Thursday as metal prices gained on bets of more economic stimulus in China, while investors awaited U.S. inflation readings for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
The TSX gained 69.29 points to conclude Wednesday’s session at 20,275.27.
September futures rocketed 0.6% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.1 cents to 74.62 cents U.S.
Algonquin Power & Utilities said it was considering a sale of its renewable energy business, while among company earnings, Canadian Tire Corp reported a drop in quarterly revenue.
Manulife Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, while pot-producer Canopy Growth again raised going concern doubts.
Two of Canada’s biggest pension funds are exploring options including a sale of Cubico Sustainable Investments that could value the renewable energy firm at about $6 billion or more, including debt.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sagged 4.11 points Wednesday to 603.55.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose Thursday as Wall Street looked ahead to a key inflation reading that could impact the Federal Reserve’s next rate move.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 162 points, or 0.5% to 35,364.
Futures for the S&P 500 forged ahead 20.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,506.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ hiked 88.5 points, or 0.6%, to 15,266.75.
The latest reading on the consumer price index is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect July CPI grew by 0.2% from the prior month and gained 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Many on Wall Street are hoping for more signs of disinflation through the CPI report and Friday’s producer price index. Some regional manufacturing numbers have also showed some signs of easing.
Along with CPI, initial jobless claims and hourly earnings for July are due out Thursday.
Meanwhile, Disney gained 1.4% after announcing an upcoming price hike for ad-free Disney+ subscriptions. The media giant also reported fiscal third-quarter earnings per share that beat expectations. But Six Flags slid 3.5% following a worse-than-anticipated report.
More than 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings for the quarter as of Thursday morning. Of those, about four-fifths have beaten Wall Street expectations.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 took on 0.8% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng squeezed up 2.23 points.
Oil prices demurred 39 cents to $84.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $3.20 to $1,953.80 U.S. an ounce.