Futures tied to Canada's main stock index inched up on Thursday, as the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve left the door open for further rate cuts this year after making a quarter-point reduction on Wednesday.
The TSX Composite Index gained 6.43 points to close Wednesday at 29,388.20.
The Canadian dollar ditched 0.03 cents to 72.59 cents U.S.
Futures moved ahead 0.3% Thursday.
The BoC reduced its key policy rate to a three-year low of 2.5% after six months, saying it was prepared for further cuts if risks to the economy rose in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Mexico City on Thursday in an attempt to improve recently strained ties with Mexico and seek a common front in crucial trade talks with the U.S.
Carney's trip will be the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister to the country in eight years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.14 points Wednesday to 875.13.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials triumphed 261 points, or 0.6%, to 46,627.
Futures for the S&P index faltered 49.75 points, or 0.7%, at 6,708.50
Futures for the NASDAQ jumped 263.75 points, or 1.1%, to 24,729.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 1.2%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.4%
Intel shares rallied about 28% in premarket trading after Nvidia said it will invest $5 billion in the chipmaker to co-develop data center and PC products. Shares of Nvidia jumped 3%. Other tech shares also rose before the open, with Broadcom, Palantir and Tesla each higher by more than 1%. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 5%, meanwhile.
The moves follow a volatile day of trading Wednesday after the Fed, as anticipated, slashed its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the lone gainer, rising 260 points, or about 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended the session in the red.
During a news conference following the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell put a damper on investor hopes that the central bank would be on a lengthy rate-cutting path this year, as he called the latest cut “risk management.” In fact, policymakers are predicting two more reductions this year, but just one in 2026, while traders had priced in two to three more cuts next year.
Despite Wednesday’s losses, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ are still headed for weekly gains, being up 0.2% and 0.5% in the period, respectively. That puts the broad market index on pace for its sixth positive week in seven and the tech-heavy Nasdaq on track for its third positive week in a row.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s move higher for the 30-stock Dow puts its week-to-date advance at 0.4%, a move that would signify its second consecutive week of gains, if it holds.
Oil prices revived 31 cents to $64.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $18.50 at $3,699.30 U.S. per ounce.
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