Futures linked to Canadian stocks rose on Thursday due to higher commodity prices, after seasonal selling pressures sent the benchmark index to near four-month lows in the previous session.

The S&P/TSX 60 futures were up 0.27% by 06:37 a.m. ET (1037 GMT).

Wall Street futures were also higher, pointing to an extension of a rally this week that pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs on the back of a surge in AI darling Nvidia's shares.

Oil prices climbed as the market weighed geopolitical developments in the Middle East, while awaiting U.S. inventory data.

Gold hit a two-week high after softer-than-expected U.S. retail sales data increased the possibility of interest-rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve this year. Silver prices were also up.

The Bank of Canada eased monetary policy earlier this month, but stated further rate cuts would be gradual and data-dependent. Traders are now pricing in a 60% chance of a rate cut in July, according to LSEG data.

After the recent U.S. economic numbers, Fed officials stated they were looking for further evidence of cooling inflation and any warning signs from the labor market as they cautiously steered toward potential rate cuts.

Markets will now be looking at U.S. weekly jobless claims data, expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, for further rate-cut clues.

In corporate news, Canadian carrier WestJet Airlines, backed by Onex Corp, said it was working to resume normal operations after the union representing its maintenance engineers rescinded its strike notice. Both parties have agreed to return to the bargaining table.

 

 

COMMODITIES

Gold: $2,337.76; +0.45%

US crude: $81.60; +0.04%

Brent crude: $85.25; +0.21%

 

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Canadian markets directory ($1 = 1.3716 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)