Jan 8 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index looked set to extend previous session’s gains on Wednesday as positive U.S. and euro zone data pointed to a gradual global economic recovery.
TOP STORIES
* Euro zone unemployment was unchanged at a record high for the eighth month in a row in November, data showed, but retail sales made the biggest monthly jump in 12 years.
* German exports rose for the fourth consecutive month in November as trade picked up, especially to European Union countries outside the euro, in a sign Europe’s largest economy is benefiting from an early global upturn.
* U.S. federal regulators are probing whether several big banks deliberately mispriced mortgage bonds in the years following the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the inquiry.
* Microsoft Corp is closer to naming a new chief executive, according to a source familiar with the board’s thinking, but it lost a front-runner candidate on Tuesday when Ford Motor Co’s chief, Alan Mulally, said he would not be going to the software giant.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
* Canada stock futures traded up 0.12 percent
* U.S. stock futures , , were mixed around -0.09 percent and 0.01 percent
* European shares, were down
COMMODITY PRICE MOVES
* Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index : 277.9352; rose 0.19 percent
* Gold futures : $1,225; fell 0.36 percent
* US crude : $93.95; rose 0.3 percent
* Brent crude : $107.84; rose 0.46 percent
* LME 3-month copper : $7,375.25; rose 0.33 percent
ANALYSTS’ RECOMMENDATIONS
Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.
* Lake Shore Gold Corp : NBF raises target to C$0.80 from C$0.70 after the company reported record 2013 production, driven by better-than-expected fourth-quarter operating results
* Colabor Group Inc : NBF cuts to sector perform from outperform following the company’s share price depreciation
ON THE CALENDAR
* No major Canadian economic data scheduled for release
* Major U.S. events and data includes ADP employment data
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