(Reuters) – Futures linked to Canada’s main stock index regained some ground on Friday as investors awaited a crucial inflation reading from the United States to gauge the timing of the first interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
September futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.6% at 5:53 a.m. ET (1000 GMT), mirroring gains in Wall Street futures.
The benchmark index fell in three of the four sessions earlier this week, marred by lower oil prices dragging down the energy sector, and by the U.S. tech rout after earnings from giants Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:) failed to impress investors.
All eyes now will be on the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show inflation inched higher in June on a monthly basis in the world’s largest economy.
Still, traders see an 87.5% chance of a rate cut by the U.S. central bank in September.
Oil prices were little changed, but were on track for a third straight weekly decline, hurt by muted demand in China and expectations of a Gaza ceasefire deal that could ease Middle East tensions and supply concerns. [O/R]
In Canada, materials sector could see some impact as prices edged lower on demand concerns from top consumer China, while gold prices firmed ahead of the PCE data. [MET/L>
In company news, Canadian energy company Pieridae Energy said it has shut-in the production of about 6,250 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) that flows to a third-party owned and operated facility, in response to low prices.
COMMODITIES AT 5:53 a.m. ET
: $2371.8; +0.8% [GOL/]
US crude: $77.92; -0.5% [O/R]
: $82.02; -0.4% [O/R]
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