Futures for Canada's commodity-heavy stock index slipped on
Wednesday, tracking weakness in crude oil prices, with concerns
about a potential recession in the United States adding to the
pressure.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.1% at
6:54 a.m. ET.
Oil prices edged down about 0.2% but held
near a one-month high set earlier in the week after a surprise
decision by OPEC+ to cut outputs. However, spot gold prices rose after weak U.S.
economic readings bolstered bets that U.S. interest rates hikes
to slowdown. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index had ended slightly lower on Tuesday, giving up its
seven-day winning streak, as energy and financial stocks lost
ground following weak U.S. job openings report. Focus will be on
the U.S. private payrolls report later in the day.
In company news, Bernstein raised Canopy Growth to
"market-perform" from "underperform".
U.S.-listed shares of Hut 8 Mining Corp gained 2.3%
in premarket trading after the crypto mining firm announced its
March production and operations update.
Meanwhile, Canada's trade balance data for February is due
at 08:30 a.m. ET.
COMMODITIES AT 6:54 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $2,029.8; +0.02% US crude : $80.5; -0.26% Brent crude : $84.7; -0.29% U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY
ADP National Employment at 8:15 a.m. ET
S&P Global Composite Final PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET
ISM N-Mfg PMI at 10:00 a.m. ET
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TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = 1.3475 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru)
