(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca)
Futures Point Higher Again
CGI, Premium in Focus
Futures for stocks in Canada's largest market tracked crude oil prices higher on Thursday, although the gains were capped by weakness in bullion prices and risks from surging COVID-19 cases around the world.
The TSX Composite index climbed 167.34 points to close Wednesday at 20,110.05.
The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.10 cents to 78.64 cents U.S.
September futures improved 0.3% Thursday.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on CGI to $135.00 from $120.00
CIBC raised the target price on Premium Brands Holdings to $127.00 from $120.00
JP Morgan raised the target price on Rogers Communications to $78.00 from $72.00
Washington extended the closure of land borders with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel such as tourism through Aug. 21 even as officials debate whether to require visitors to have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange rocketed 18.66 points, or 2.1%, Wednesday to 908.52
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday as stable bond yields continued to give the green light to investors to buy stocks following Monday's market rout.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials added 37 points, or 0.1%, to 34,355.25. The Dow is now up 0.3% on the week and sits less than 1% from a record high.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 5.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,355.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index took on 19.5 points, or 0.1%, to 14,847.25.
Names closely linked to the economic reopening were higher in premarket trading. Royal Caribbean was up 1%. Energy stocks were higher as oil rebounded back above $70 a barrel. Bank shares were higher with yields stable in early trading.
A strong second-quarter earnings reporting season continued. AT&T shares gained 1% after earnings and revenue topped analyst estimates. CSX jumped 2% after the railroad's second-quarter profit more than doubled.
However, Texas Instruments was set to weigh on tech shares, down more than 4% in early trading. The chipmaker topped expectations for the second quarter, but warned that third quarter results could fall short of analysts' estimates.
A busy week of earnings will continue on Thursday. D.R. Horton, Southwest Air, Abbott Labs and Union Pacific are among the names on deck before the opening bell. Intel, Twitter, Snap and Capital One will post quarterly updates after the market closes.
American Airlines posted a profit for the second-quarter, snapping a streak of five straight quarters with losses, thanks to the recovery in travel demand and government aid. The shares, which were up 8% already this week, were off by a little less than 1% in pre-market trading.
So far 15% of the S&P 500 has reported earnings, with 88% beating earnings estimates, according to Refinitiv. Of the companies that have reported, 84% have topped revenue expectations.
Investors will also be watching the weekly jobless claims number from the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting the number of first-time filings to be 350,000, down from the prior reading of 360,000. Existing home sales figures will also be released.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index leaped 1.8%, while markets in Japan were shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices moved up 59 cents to $70.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $6.40 to $1,797.00 U.S. a pound.
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