Futures tracking Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index rose on Wednesday, boosted by higher oil prices, while investors awaited the U.S. inflation report and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision scheduled later in the day.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 182.42 points to close Tuesday 21,887.34.
The Canadian dollar nicked ahead 0.05 cents to 72.75 cents U.S.
Futures gained 0.4% Wednesday.
Canadian utility and real estate shares are likely to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the Bank of Canada's move to begin cutting interest rates, according to investors.
In corporate news, National Bank of Canada is set to acquire Alberta-based rival Canadian Western Bank for $5 billion combining the country's sixth- and eighth-largest lenders, respectively.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is expected to speak at the Conference of Montreal at 3:30 p.m. ET.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange wilted 9.78 points, or 1.7%, to end Tuesday 577.16.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures climbed slightly Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and May’s consumer inflation data.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials acquired 45 points, or 0.1%, to 38,839.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 7.75 points, or 0.1%, at 5,391.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite took on 31.25 points, or 0.2%, to 19,273.50.
Oracle jumped 9% as traders fixated on the software maker’s newly announced cloud deals with Google and OpenAI, overlooking misses in the company’s latest quarter.
During Tuesday’s trading, investors’ rotation into Apple helped lift the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite to fresh closing highs. The iPhone maker announced its push into artificial intelligence at its developer conference this week, fueling a rally in the stock. The Dow was the outlier of the three major averages, losing 0.31%.
Investors are looking to Wednesday’s conclusion of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which will feature an rate policy decision and a subsequent press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
May’s consumer price index print, a broad measure of goods and services costs, will also be released on Wednesday morning. The report is forecast to show just a 0.1% increase from April and a 3.4% rise on a year-over-year basis.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 capsized 0.7% Wednesday, while Hang Seng flopped 1.3%.
Oil prices moved ahead 96 cents to $78.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $3.30 to $2,329.90 U.S. an ounce.
