(Reuters) – Futures of Canada’s main stock index edged higher on Thursday as investors digested domestic earnings updates, while lower crude prices and caution ahead of a key U.S. inflation print capped further gains.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.1% at 7:10 a.m. ET (12:10 GMT).
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 0.4% on Wednesday, logging declines for a third consecutive session as investors weighed earnings from some of Canada’s biggest banks. [.TO]
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce exceeded estimates for first-quarter profit, while TD Bank Group reported declines in its first-quarter profit as the bank set aside higher provisions for potential bad debts.
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal also said in the results reported earlier in the week that they had built larger provisions to prepare for soured loans.
Meanwhile, oil and gas firm Canadian Natural Resources beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, helped by record production.
Energy shares were set to snap their gaining streaks as oil prices fell after a larger-than-expected build in U.S. crude stockpiles stoked worries about slow demand. [O/R]
Gold prices remained range-bound, while copper prices ticked upwards. [MET/L] [GOL/]
Investors will closely monitor a January reading of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index in the U.S. and gross domestic product numbers (GDP) in Canada, both due at 8:30 a.m. ET, to get cues on the central banks’ policies for interest rate cuts this year.
Hot inflation readings in the U.S. earlier this month dampened hopes of an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve, while a significant drop in Canadian CPI had brought forward bets of a cut from the Bank of Canada.
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its next monetary policy decision on March 6.
COMMODITIES AT 7:10 a.m. ET
Gold futures: $2,038.1; -0.2% [GOL/]
US crude: $78.24; -0.4% [O/R]
Brent crude: $83.39; -0.4% [O/R]
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
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