Bay Street Likely To See Positive Start

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open higher Thursday morning as traders are likely to look for some bargain hunting after recent losses. Positive lead from European markets and higher bullion prices are also likely to help underpin sentiment.

Investors await Canadian retail sales data, due on Friday, for clues about the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision next week.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields remain elevated as recent comments from central bank officials indicate that interest rates would not come down as early as some had initially thought.

In Canadian company news, Toronto-Dominion Bank Group (TD.TO) announced Thursday that it expects The Charles Schwab Corp's (SCHW) fourth quarter earnings to translate into approximately C$141 million of reported equity in net income of an investment in Schwab for the Bank's fiscal 2024 first quarter.

Canopy Growth Inc (Weed.TO) has announced that it plans to raise $35 million through private placement to strengthen its balance sheet.

The Canadian market recorded its biggest single-session drop in three months on Wednesday amid fading optimism about an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve after the recent batch of strong U.S. economic data.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 253.07 points or 1.2% at 20,695.02, the lowest close since December 20, 2023.

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, with Chinese markets seeing considerable volatility on concerns about slowing growth in the world's second largest economy.

Geopolitical tensions remained on investors' radar after Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran on Thursday, targeting separatist militants.

European stocks are up in positive territory Thursday, after suffering losses in the previous three sessions amid rising tensions in the Middle East and fading rate cut hopes.

Investors are awaiting the release of the ECB December meeting minutes for clarity on the central bank's interest-rate trajectory.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.10 or 0.12% at $72.66 a barrel, ahead of official inventory data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Gold futures are gaining $11.50 or 0.6% at $2,018.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0076 or 0.34% at $22.745 an ounce.