April 12 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock
index rose on Wednesday as commodity prices firmed, while
investors await the Bank of Canada's (BoC) interest rate
decision due later in the day.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.4% at
6:55 a.m. ET.
The BoC's rate decision is due at 10:00 a.m. ET. Traders and
analysts largely expect the central bank to keep rates
unchanged, leaving the benchmark rate at 4.5%. Investors will also watch out for U.S. inflation data and
the Federal Reserve's minutes of its meeting last month due
later in the day for more clues on the monetary policy path in
the world's largest economy amid continued resilience in the
labor market.
Oil and gold prices advanced against
the dollar in the run-up to CPI data from the U.S., helping the
futures tracking the commodity-heavy TSX. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index had ended at a five-week high on Tuesday, as a rise in
commodity prices bolstered energy and gold mining shares.
In company news, casual dining franchise MTY Food Group Inc reported a first-quarter profit of C$0.75/share,
missing the average analysts' estimate of C$0.78/share.
Silver miner Fortuna Silver Mines Inc reported a
decline in quarterly gold and silver production in its
first-quarter update.
Piper Sandler upgraded methanol producer Methanex Corp to "neutral" from "underweight".
COMMODITIES AT 6:55 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $2,015.2; +1.0% US crude : $81.58; +0.06% Brent crude : $85.73; +0.14% FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES:
TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = 1.3461 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
