Markets seem set to edge up
North American markets appear headed for a modestly higher open on Thursday ahead of a fiscal update from the federal government some key U.S. economic data.
Investors are awaiting an announcement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper as to the condition of the Canadian economy. Opposition parties say they intend to press him on how effectively designated stimulus funds are being spent.
In the U.S., markets are likely to be impacted by reports on weekly jobless claims and retail sales.
Amid the recent three-month rally that has lifted North American markets by more than 35 per cent, investors have latched on to any signs that economic deterioration was lessening to help push stocks higher.
Soaring oil prices have helped sustain the rally so far, but some analysts are predicting a pullback.
The Toronto stock market continued to post gains on Wednesday as lower inflation data from China raised hopes for higher growth in the Asian economy and pushed oil prices and commodity stocks higher.
But gains were spotty outside those areas and the S&P/TSX composite index came down from an early lead of more than 100 points to close up 50.12 points at 10,597 free credit report without a credit card.98.
New York markets also started off strong but closed lower following a weak auction of U.S. Treasury notes that raised concerns about inflation and higher interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 24.04 points to 8,739.02.
Ahead of Thursday's market open, Dow futures rose 14, or 0.26 per cent, to 8,768. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.70, or 0.28 per cent, to 942.20, while Nasdaq 100 index futures increased 4.50, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,500.25.
The Canadian dollar opened at 90.62 cents US up 0.37 of a cent from Wednesday's close.
Oil prices rose 66 cents to US$71.99 a barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index remained flat with gains of just 0.03 per cent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.5 per cent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 per cent.
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