Feb 28 (Reuters) – Futures for Canada’s main stock index tumbled on Wednesday tracking a decline in commodity prices, as investors assessed big bank earnings in Canada and awaited key inflation data from the United States.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.6% at 6:52 a.m. ET (11:52 GMT), mirroring losses in the Wall Street peers.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab ended 0.03% lower on Tuesday, as losses in financial shares offset gains in energy.
Energy shares are expected to reverse two days of gains on a 1% decline in oil prices, as the prospect of delays in interest rate cuts in the U.S. and a rise in U.S. crude stocks offset a boost from a potential extension to OPEC+ supply curbs.
Materials stocks are poised to extend their losses as gold prices edged down on a stronger dollar, while more bad news from China’s property sector weighed on copper prices.
Investors continue to parse quarterly earnings from big banks in Canada as Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), opens new tab reported a lower first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by bigger provisions for loans.
However, the National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), opens new tab reported a higher first-quarter profit as robust performance at its financial markets unit cushioned the hit from an increase in loan loss provisions.
On the data front, a monthly reading of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index in the U.S., the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due on Thursday, alongside a gross domestic product (GDP) reading in Canada.
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The data follows a hot reading of consumer prices (CPI) in the U.S. that had dashed early rate cut hopes from the Fed earlier this month, while a significant drop in Canadian CPI had brought forward bets for a cut by the Bank of Canada.
COMMODITIES AT 6:52 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $2,036.4; -0.4%
US crude : $78.1; -1.0%
Brent crude : $82.95; -0.8%
Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore
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