Bay Street Seen Opening Higher; U.S. PCE Index Reading In Focus

RTTNews | 10 days ago

(RTTNews) - Higher U.S. and Canadian futures, and firm commodity prices point to a positive opening for stocks on Bay Street Friday morning.

The focus will be on the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index reading, the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, due at 8:30 AM ET.

On the Canadian economic front, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said its business barometer in Canada, an index reflecting 12-month forward expectations for business performance in the country, dropped to 47.5 in April, from an upwardly revised 52.9 in the prior month.

In earnings news, Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) reported first-quarter net income of $1,195 million, compared to net income of $1,248 million in the year-ago quarter.

TFI International Inc (TFII.TO) reported first quarter net income of $92.8 million compared to $111.9 million in Q1 2023. Adjusted net income came in at $105.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $116.5 million a year earlier.

Eldorado Gold Corporation (ELD.TO) reported adjusted net earnings of $55.2 million for the first quarter of 2024, compared to adjusted net earnings of $16.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

After opening negative gap and plunging deeper into the red Thursday morning, the Canadian market recovered gradually and eventually ended slightly up.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped about 235 points to 21,638.37 in early trades, rallied to 21,920.15 before settling at 21,885.38, gaining 11.66 points or 0.05%.

Asian stocks gained on Friday as Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet both beat Wall Street's first quarter expectations, offsetting Meta Platforms' disappointing forward guidance.

European stocks are up in positive territory on fairly strong results from Microsoft and Alphabet, and on ECB survey that showed Euro zone consumers lowered their expectation for inflation over the next 12 months in March.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.71 or 0.85% at $84.28 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $14.80 or 0.63% at $2,357.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.262 or 0.96% at $27.615 an ounce.

South Korea Shares Due For Support On Tuesday

Ahead of Monday's holiday for Children's Day, the South Korea stock market had ended lower in two straight sessions, slipping more than 15 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,675-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on renewed optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are predicted to open in similar fashion. The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the technology stocks and automobile companies were mitigated by support from the financial sector. For the day, the index lost 7.02 points or 0.26 percent to finish at the daily low of at 2,676.63 after peaking at 2,705.26. Volume was 329.8 million shares worth 7.7 trillion won. There were 477 decliners and 390 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 1.42 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.94 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.75 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.51 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.24 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.98 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.23 percent, Naver soared 3.07 percent, LG Chem was down 0.37 percent, Lotte Chemical strengthened 1.59 percent, S-Oil rose 0.29 percent, SK Innovation added 0.55 percent, POSCO climbed 1.13 percent, SK Telecom slid 0.39 percent, KEPCO lost 0.47 percent, Hyundai Motor plunged 3.21 percent, Kia Motors plummeted 4.77 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

RTTNews | 4h 17min ago

TSX Ends Higher For 3rd Straight Day

The Canadian market ended sharply higher on Monday, extending gains to a third straight session, thanks to firm commodity prices and rising optimism about interest rate cuts by several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of India, by the later part of the second quarter, or early third quarter.

RTTNews | 5h 11min ago

Australia Interest Rate Decision Due On Tuesday

The Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4.35 percent.

RTTNews | 5h 17min ago

Dollar Drifts Lower On Rate Cut Bets

The U.S. dollar shed ground against its major counterparts on Monday with investors growing increasingly confident about a rate cut in the coming months.

RTTNews | 6h 0min ago

Canadian Market Up Sharply, Looks Headed For Buoyant Close

The Canadian market is up firmly in positive territory Monday afternoon with stocks from several sectors posting strong gains thanks to sustained buying support amid rising hopes of interest rate cuts by several central banks, including the Fed, European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada.

RTTNews | 8h 30min ago

Swiss Market Ends Higher Again

The Switzerland market ended on a firm note on Monday, moving higher for a second straight session, on optimism several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the ECB will soon start reducing interest rates.

RTTNews | 9h 50min ago

European Stocks Close On Bright Note On Strong Data, Rate Cut Hopes

European stocks closed on a bright note on Monday, lifted by optimism about interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in the foreseeable future, and data showing improvement in Eurozone investor confidence and an acceleration in private sector growth.

RTTNews | 10h 7min ago

Jobs Data Aided Dollar's Tumble Last Week

The week ended May 3 witnessed heavy losses for the Dollar as a weaker-than-expected job market update renewed hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

RTTNews | 13h 16min ago

EURUSD	1.0769	GBPUSD	1.2562	AUDUSD	0.66234
USDJPY	153.875	USDCAD	1.36647	USDCHF	0.90603