Futures for Canada’s main stock index fell on Thursday as investors maintained caution ahead of key domestic employment data later this week, while rising crude prices kept losses in check.
The TSX Composite acquired enough momentum to close Wednesday higher 11.44 points to 20,969.18.
March futures were down 0.2% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar moved back 0.14 cents to 74.13 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, Canada’s second-biggest life insurer, Sun Life Financial, reported a 10% rise in fourth-quarter core profit on Wednesday after the closing bell.
Meanwhile, Bombardier forecast better-than-expected 2024 revenue on Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 0.84 points Wednesday to 547.32.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures hovered near the flatline Thursday morning after the S&P 500 finished the regular session on the brink of the 5,000 milestone.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials index doffed seven points to 38,767.
Futures for the S&P 500 sifted off 7.25 points, or 0.1%, at 5,008.
Futures for the NASDAQ dipped 27.5 points, or 0.2%, to 17,814.25.
Disney shares surged about 8% before the bell after the media giant beat quarterly earnings estimates and raised its guidance amid its cost-cutting effort. Chipmaker and designer Arm jumped nearly 30% after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings and gave an upbeat profit forecast.
Stocks are coming off a winning session that saw the S&P 500 edge close to 5,000 S&P 500 in a rally led by strong earnings report and technology continuing their chug along. The fourth-quarter earnings season has been stronger than expected, boosting investor confidence that the healthy economy could continue driving corporate profits.
Big tech Meta Platforms surged another 3% Wednesday, while Nvidia and Microsoft rose about 2% each to fresh record highs. The NASDAQ
Composite jumped nearly 1% to another all-time closing high, and the blue-chip Dow rallied about 150 points.
Investors will monitor fresh jobless claims data on Thursday to gauge the health of the labor market.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 bounced 2.1% higher Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index skidded 1.3%.
Oil prices advanced 95 cents to $74.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $12.40 to $2,039.30 U.S. an ounce.