Canada's main stock index futures fell to a three-week low on Thursday, weighed by weakness in gold prices and as concerns about a stunted global economic recovery dented demand for world equities.
The TSX Composite shot higher 140.54 points, to close Wednesday at 20,693.79
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.07 cents Thursday to 79.18 cents U.S.
September futures fell 0.2% Thursday.
National Bank of Canada resumes coverage on Aya Gold & Silver with an outperform rating, and a price target of $13.25
National Bank of Canada ups the price target on Canadian National Railway to $144 from $139
National Bank of Canada initiates coverage on Torex Gold Resources with a sector perform rating and a price target of $24.00.
On thing macroeconomic Statistics Canada said foreign investors acquired $14.2 billion of Canadian securities in July, led by purchases of government debt securities. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $4.7 billion.
StatsCan also said wholesale trade fell for the second consecutive month, down 2.1% in July. This decline was due to a 12.4% decrease in sales of building materials and supplies.
Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts were 283,971 units in August 2021, down from 286,076 units in July 2021.
Elsewhere, Alberta introduced a vaccine passport system on Wednesday to combat a fourth wave of COVID-19 that is close to overwhelming the healthcare system, as Premier Jason Kenney apologized for mishandling the pandemic.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 7.3 points Wednesday to 904.70.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were slightly lower on Thursday following a rebound on Wall Street as the market tried to avert September’s seasonally weak trading pattern.
Futures for the 30-stock index descended 37 points, or 0.1%, to 34,663.
Futures for the S&P 500 lost 8.5 points, or 0.2%, to 4,463.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 42.5 points, or 0.3%, to 15,454.
Despite a rebound on Wednesday, the S&P 500 and the Dow are still in the red for September. So far this month, the 30-stock Dow is down 1.6%, while the S&P 500 has declined 0.9%, on track for its worst monthly performance since January. The NASDAQ has fallen 0.6% this
month.
After seven straight months of gains for the S&P 500 and a near 20% rally to records this year, many on Wall Street expect bumpier trading and lower returns for the rest of the year.
History is also not on the market’s side as September tends to be a typically negative month for stocks. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.56% during the month on average since 1945, according to data from CFRA.
Moderna rose slightly in pre-market trading after the company released more data on breakthrough COVID cases that supports the push for the wide use of vaccine booster shots.
Investors will monitor the latest jobless claims data on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a total of 320,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance in the week ended Sept.11, slightly up from 310,000 in the week prior.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slid 0.6% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index demurred 1.5%.
Oil prices fell 20 cents to $72.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $22.90 to $1,771.90 U.S. a pound.
