April 26 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's S&P/TSX
composite index were subdued on Wednesday, amid caution in
broader markets, after the main index slumped in the previous
session on fresh U.S. bank worries.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index were flat at 7:21
a.m. ET.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed 1.2% lower, the biggest fall in nearly six
weeks, on Tuesday, as commodity prices dropped and investors
worried about the health of the U.S. regional banking sector
after First Republic Bank disclosed it lost more than half its
deposits during last month's banking crisis.
Spot gold prices rose on Wednesday but moved in a
tight range as traders strapped in for U.S. economic data
through this week for further cues on the Federal Reserve's
monetary policy path. Meanwhile, Canadian inflation, excluding food and energy
costs, is expected to remain above 3% until the fourth quarter
of this year, the median forecast of seven economists surveyed
by Reuters showed, dashing hopes the Bank of Canada would make
an early shift to cutting interest rates.
In company news, Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd , the target of an unsolicited takeover bid by
Glencore , narrowly missed first-quarter estimates on
Wednesday, hit by lower prices, weak copper and zinc sales and
higher expenses.
Oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy Inc reported a
fall in its first-quarter profit, hurt by lower oil prices.
COMMODITIES AT 7:21 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $2,000.6; +0.28% US crude : $76.87; -0.26% Brent crude : $80.23; -0.67% U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY
Durable goods for March at 8:30 a.m. ET
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 = 1.3630 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
