Feb 24 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada’s main stock index on Wednesday as investors shied away from riskier assets on the prospect of persistently low oil prices, which raised concerns about weak global economic growth.
Oil prices slipped after Saudi Arabia effectively ruled out output cuts by major producers and a U.S. industry report showed crude stockpiles hit a record.
March futures on the S&P TSX index were down 1.24 percent at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Canada’s main stock index fell on Tuesday as lower crude oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while financials reversed course after being lifted in earlier trade by better-than-expected Bank of Montreal earnings.
Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.95 percent at 7:30 a.m. ET. S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.90 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 1.27 percent.
(Morning News Call newsletter link.reuters.com/nex49s; The Day Ahead newsletter link.reuters.com/mex49s)
TOP STORIES
Royal Bank of Canada reported a quarterly profit that missed market estimates on Wednesday, hurt by weakness in its insurance and capital markets businesses.
Encana Corp cut its capital budget and production target for 2016, and said it would slash more jobs as the company struggles to cope with a steep fall in oil prices.
BlackBerry said it has acquired U.K.-based cyber security consultancy Encription, moving the company deeper into the services business as it continues to morph into a more software-focused entity amid its ongoing turnaround.
COMMODITIES AT 7:30 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $1,236.10; +1.14 pct
US crude : $30.74; -3.58 pct
Brent crude : $32.43; -2.52 pct
LME 3-month copper : $4,591.50; -1.15 pct
ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Altus Group Ltd : Canaccord Genuity raises target price to C$27 from C$24; rating “buy”
Bank of Montreal : BofA Merrill Lynch raises target to C$86 from C$84; rating “neutral”
Birchcliff Energy Ltd : CIBC raises target price to C$7 from C$6
U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY
0945 Markit Composite Flash PMI for Feb: Prior 53.20
0945 Markit Services PMI Flash for Feb: Expected 53.5; Prior 53.2
1000 New home sales-units for Jan: Expected 0.520 mln; Prior 0.544 mln
1000 New home sales change mm for Jan: Expected -4.4 pct; Prior 10.8 pct
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= C$1.39) (Reporting by Nikhil Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
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