Futures tracking Canada’s main stock index were flat on Monday, as investors avoided placing big bets ahead of key domestic economic data due later in the day.
The TSX gained 185.54 points to close Friday to 24,549.48. On the week, the index gave back 724 points, or 2.87%.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.06 cents to 69.49 cents U.S.
Futures advanced 0.01% Monday.
In corporate news, Unifor said on Sunday its members at Canadian National Railway have ratified a new four-year collective agreement, averting a potential strike action.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product increased 0.3% in October as there were increases in both services-producing and goods-producing industries. while the Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.6% month over month in November and rose 2.2% on a yearly basis. StatsCan’s raw materials price declined 0.5% month over month in November and increased 2.0% year over year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 4.29 points Friday to 586.88, floundering 21 points on the week, or 3.45%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were mixed early Monday as the market gears up for a holiday-shortened trading week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sank 98 points, or 0.2%, to 42,218.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 2.25 points to 6,004
Futures for the NASDAQ picked up 80.5 points or 0.4%, to 21,647.
Trading is expected to be relatively muted during the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is shut on Christmas Day.
Investors are hopeful that a so-called Santa Claus rally may help the market end 2024 on a high note, especially following a tumultuous week.
Dating back to 1969, the S&P 500, on average, added 1.3% in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
The second half of December is also typically the second-strongest period of the year for U.S. equities, and the S&P 500 has been up 83% of the time in December of presidential election years, according to Bank of America.
The market is coming off a rollercoaster ride that saw the blue-chip Dow suffer a 10-day losing streak, its longest since 1974. The Dow tumbled 1,100 points last Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer rate cuts for 2025 than previously projected. A cooler-than-expected inflation reading helped stocks recoup some of the losses.
Month-to-date, the 30-stock Dow is down 4.6% in December, while the S&P 500 is off 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the downtrend, rising 1.8% this month.
On the politics front, President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill on Saturday that averted a government shutdown. The bill funds
federal agencies at current levels for the next three months.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 captured 1.2% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng moved higher 0.8%
Oil prices added 27 cents to $69.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $16.10 to $2,629 U.S. an ounce.