Futures for Canada’s main stock index climbed on Thursday after President Donald Trump hailed “big progress” in the U.S.-Japan trade negotiations on Wednesday, although sentiment remained fragile amid tariff uncertainties.
The TSX Composite Index gained 38.86 points to conclude Wednesday at 24,106.79.
June futures were up 0.4% Thursday.
The Canadian dollar settled 0.14 cents to 72.01 cents U.S.
Speaking to reporters after the talks on Wednesday, Japanese representative Ryosei Akazawa gave few details but said the parties had agreed to hold a second meeting later this month and that Trump had said getting a deal with Japan was a “top priority”.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported Canadian investors acquired $27.2 billion of foreign securities in February, led by a record investment in U.S. equity securities, which more than offset the significant divestment in these instruments in January.
Meanwhile, foreign investors reduced their exposure to Canadian securities by $6.5 billion.
Markets throughout North America are closed Friday for Good Friday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 8.83 points, or 1.4%, Wednesday to 638.87.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures rose on Thursday, the last trading day of the week, as traders tried to recover some of the steep losses suffered in the previous session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials swooned 602 points, or 1.5% to 39,251, riven by a 19% decline in UnitedHealth following an earnings miss.
Futures for the much broader index gained 28.5 points, or 0.5%, to 5,334.25
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite jumped 158.25 points, or 0.9%, to 18543.50.
Eli Lilly, on the other hand, jumped 11% in premarket trading after delivering positive trial results for a weight-loss pill. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor popped 3% on a strong quarterly financial report.
Stocks also took a hit on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Trump’s levies could drive up inflation in the near term and are “likely to move us further away from our goals.” Powell said the central bank may find itself in a “challenging scenario” in which its dual-mandate goals — to achieve maximum employment and stable prices — are in tension.
The Dow and S&P 500 have both slid more than 1% on the week. The NASDAQ has dropped 2.5%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sprang up 1.6%.
Oil prices 97 cents to $63.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices captured $3.50 to $3,349.90 U.S. an ounce.