Futures for Canada's main stock index were subdued on Thursday, as gains in crude prices were countered by weakness in metals and concerns over slowing global economic growth.
The S&P/TSX jumped 97.55 points to conclude Wednesday at 20,383.75
June futures were flat Thursday.
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.02 cents to 78.01 cents U.S.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce missed analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, on higher provisions for credit losses and expenses and lower investment banking revenue.
Telus International reportedly made and then abruptly withdrew a A$1.2-billion ($1.063-billion Canadian) buyout approach for Australian rival Appen Ltd.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $157.00 from $155.00
CIBC raises the rating on Richelieu Hardware to outperform from neutral.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Scotiabank to $91.00 from $90.00
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada informed us retail sales were virtually unchanged in March. Sales were up in 10 of 11 subsectors, led by higher sales at gasoline stations. Lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers erased the gains observed in the remaining subsectors.
Elsewhere, the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured by StatsCan’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours as payroll employment—increased by 118,100 (+0.7%) in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged higher 0.67 points Wednesday to 701.33.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose Thursday, as Wall Street tried to rebound from a long string of weekly declines.
Futures for the 30-stock index leaped 198 points, or 0.6%, Thursday to 32,274.
Futures for the much-broader index gained 23 points, or 0.6%, to 3,999.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index moved forward 30 points, or 0.3%, to 11,972.25.
The move in futures comes after strong earnings from the retail sector. Macy’s shares surged 15% in premarket trading after the company raised its 2022 profit outlook, and Williams-Sonoma rose 8.3% after beating estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Discount retailers Dollar Tree and Dollar General jumped 12% and 10%, respectively, after posting earnings beats.
On the flipside, shares of chipmaker Nvidia dropped 5.6% in the premarket after the company delivered weaker-than-expected guidance for the second quarter and the company’s CFO said Nvidia would slow hiring. Similarly, software stock Snowflake tumbled 14% after the company’s guidance for operating margin came in narrower than expected.
Though first-quarter earnings for the market as a whole have been largely in line with historical trends, there have been dramatic pullbacks for some major stocks after earnings reports as investors look for the impact of inflation and slowing economic growth.
Elsewhere, Twitter shares jumped more than 5% after Elon Musk increased his commitment in his takeover bid to $33.5 billion, which analysts have said indicates a new seriousness and increased probability that he’ll complete the deal.
Chipmaker Broadcom announced plans to buy cloud company VMware in a $61 billion deal, which would be one of the biggest tech acquisitions of all time. Broadcom shares fell more than 1%, while VMWare shares inched higher.
Investors will get an updated look at weekly jobless claims and a second read on first-quarter GDP. Data on pending home sales will follow later in the morning.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.3% Wednesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng also lost 0.3%.
Oil prices acquired 82 cents to $111.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $2.20 to $1,844.10 U.S. an ounce.
