Canadian stock futures rose on Tuesday as concerns around the Omicron coronavirus variant faded, with stronger crude prices underpinning the market further.
The S&P/TSX Composite popped 227.83 points, or 1.1%, to conclude Monday at 20,861.10
Futures were ahead 1% Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar zoomed 0.52 cents to 78.88 cents U.S. Tuesday.
RBC raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $154.00 from $146.00.
BMO raised the rating on Canadian Western Bank to outperform from market perform.
CIBC cut the target price on First Quantum Minerals to $37.00 from $38.50.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that Canada's merchandise exports were up 6.4% in October, while imports rose 5.3%. Canada's merchandise trade surplus widened from $1.4 billion in September to $2.1 billion in October, the largest surplus so far in 2021.
Also this morning (around 10 a.m. EST), Western University’s IVEY School of Business reports its purchasing managers index for November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fought its way into the green 0.57 points to close Monday at 897.70.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures jumped early morning Tuesday after a rebound from a rollercoaster week as investors grew less fearful of the potential impact from the new omicron coronavirus variant.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials leaped 351 points or 1%, to 35,563.
Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 60 points, or 1.3%, to 4,650.
Futures for the NASDAQ galloped 283.5 points, or 1.8%, to 16,126.25.
Chipmaker stocks were the early winners, with Intel leaping 8.4% and NVIDIA up 3.7%, following news that Intel was planning to take its self-driving car unit, Mobileye, public in mid-2022.
Casino stocks also were hot, as Las Vegas Sands rose 3.4%, while cruise lines also gained on the enthusiasm that omicron may pose less of a threat than feared. Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings jumped about 3.5% each.
Apple shares rose 1.8% in pre-market trading following a call from Morgan Stanley, which maintained its outperform rating on the stock but heightened its price target on it to $200, citing the company’s commitment to developing augmented and virtual reality technology.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline were about 1% higher following news that the drugmaker’s monoclonal antibodies treatment had shown effectiveness treating omicron.
Elsewhere Tesla shares rose nearly 4% despite news that the company had to replace cameras in three of its models. UBS said the electric carmaker will be the dominant force in the industry and raised its price target.
Investors are betting that the new COVID-19 strain may cause milder illness than feared. White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the initial data on the variant is "encouraging," though he cautioned that more information was needed to fully understand it.
Meanwhile, the market also is weighing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve would begin to remove its massive pandemic easing policies and hike rates sooner than expected.
Overseas, markets in Japan recovered 1.9% Tuesday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2.7%.
Oil prices gained two dollars to $71.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rebounded $4.20 to $1,783.70 U.S. an ounce.
