Futures for Canada's primary stock index remained steady on Thursday as market participants weighed the potential consequences of fresh tariff threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The TSX Composite Index lost 22.68 points to greet Wednesday’s closing bell at 25,626.16.
Futures were flat early Thursday.
The Canadian dollar forged ahead 0.17 cents to 70.39 cents U.S. early Thursday.
Trump announced plans to unveil fresh tariffs within the next month or sooner, targeting lumber and forest products in addition to previously announced duties on imported cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
This announcement is particularly significant for Canada, one of the globe's leading producers and exporters of softwood lumber, with the lion's share of these exports destined for the United States.
In corporate developments, Cenovus Energy reported a decline in fourth-quarter profits, while Teck Resources exceeded analysts' expectations for profit in the same period.
Top potash producer Nutrien fell short of Wall Street's forecasts for its fourth-quarter earnings, while Manulife Financial saw a 6% increase in quarterly profit.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada’s new housing price index edged down 0.1% on a month-over-month basis in January, following the same decline in the previous month.
Prices were unchanged in 15 out of the 27 surveyed census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Meanwhile, nine CMAs saw an increase, while three CMAs were down.
Elsewhere, the Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.6% month over month in January and increased 5.8% year over year.
Meanwhile, the Raw Materials Price Index grew 3.7% on a monthly basis and increased 11.8% year over year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.1 points Wednesday to 638.80.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures moved lower Thursday, a day after the S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time high, while retail giant Walmart slid after issuing a disappointing outlook.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost 140 points, or 0.3%, to 44,571
Futures for the S&P 500 slid 17.75 points or 0.3%, to 6,145.25.
Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ gave back 59.5 points, or 0.3%, to 22,191.
Dow member Walmart dropped more than 7% after the company said it expects fiscal year sales to grow between 3% and 4%. That’s below a StreetAccount forecast that pointed to 4.2% growth. The company’s fiscal 2026 earnings outlook was also below analyst expectations. The weak guidance overshadowed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.
Wall Street is coming off a winning session, with the S&P 500 on Wednesday posting another record high. The NASDAQ Composite and the 30-stock Dow also finished in positive territory as investors shrugged off President Donald Trump’s warning of more tariffs.
Elsewhere on the economic front, investors will be watching for weekly jobless claims data, which is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 1.2% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 1.2%.
Oil prices captured 22 cents to $72.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $24.50 to $2,960.60 U.S. an ounce.
