May 26 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Canada’s main stock index on Thursday as oil prices broke above $50 per barrel for the first time in nearly seven months after a global supply glut showed signs of easing.
June futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.31 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.
Oil prices have rallied in recent weeks after a string of outages, due mainly to wildfires in Canada and unrest in Nigeria and Libya, knocked out nearly 4 million barrels per day of production.
No major economic events are scheduled for the day.
Canada’s main stock index hit a nine-month high on Wednesday, led by energy and financial stocks as oil rose and investors grew more comfortable with the prospect of a U.S. interest rate hike as early as next month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.16 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.16 percent.
(Morning News Call newsletter link.reuters.com/nex49s; The Day Ahead newsletter link.reuters.com/mex49s)
TOP STORIES
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) said bad loans increased by C$583 million, or 19 percent, in the second quarter from the quarter before, largely due to a rise in credit to oil firms that had turned sour.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a 3.5 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by growth in its retail and business banking division.
Borrowing activity by Canadian small businesses fell for the fourth month in a row in March, data from PayNet showed, suggesting firms’ appetite for investment remained weak and boding poorly for economic growth.
COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $1,229; +0.42 pct
US crude : $49.84; +0.54 pct
Brent crude : $50.09; +0.70 pct
LME 3-month copper : $4,689.50; +0.76 pct
ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Bank of Montreal : Barclays raises target price to C$70 from C$65
Kinross Gold Corp : Canaccord Genuity raises rating to “buy” from “hold”
Prometic Life Sciences : NBF resumes coverage with “outperform”; price target C$4.90
U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON THURSDAY
0830 Durable goods for Apr: Expected 0.5 pct; Prior 1.3 pct
0830 Durables ex-transport for Apr: Expected 0.3 pct; Prior -0.2 pct
0830 Durables ex-defense mm for Apr: Prior -1.1 pct
0830 Nondefense cap ex-air for Apr: Expected 0.4 pct; Prior -0.8 pct
0830 Initial jobless claims: Expected 275,000; Prior 278,000
0830 Jobless claim 4-week Average: Prior 275,750
0830 Continued jobless claims: Expected 2.146 mln; Prior 2.152 mln
1000 Pending Homes Index for Apr: Prior 110.5
1000 Pending sales change mm for Apr: Expected 0.6 pct; Prior 1.4 pct
1100 KC Fed Manufacturing for May: Prior -8
1100 KC Fed Composite Index for May: Prior -4
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Canadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.29) (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)
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