Bay Street Likely To Open Higher

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares look headed for a positive start Thursday morning with firm bullion prices triggering some buying in the materials sector. Investors will also be reacting positively to encouraging updates from a few big name U.S. tech companies.

A report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the CFIB business barometer long-term index in Canada, which tracks 12-month business outlooks, fell to 54.6 in January 2025, from a score of 56.4 recorded in December 2024.

Data on average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees in Canada for the month of November is due at 8:30 AM ET.

Real Matters Inc (REAL.TO) reported a net income of $2.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, up from net loss of $3.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

The Canadian market closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by gains in energy, materials and consumer staples sectors. The mood remained largely cautious with investors digesting the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.

The Bank of Canada lowered interest rates by a quarter point, as widely expected. With this the overnight rate has dropped to 3%, the bank rate to 3.25% and the deposit rate to 2.95%. The central bank had cut rates by 50 basis points at each of its two previous meetings.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled higher by 53.85 points or 0.21% at 25,473.30.

Asian stocks closed mostly higher in thin holiday trading on Thursday ,as investors digested broadly positive tech earnings from the U.S. and awaited clarity on U.S. President Trump's tariff policies, especially on Canada, Mexico and China.

The major European markets are up in positive territory with investors digesting a slew of earnings news and economic data, and reacting to the European Central Bank's announcement of a 25-basis point interest rate cut.

In commodities, crude oil futures are down $0.14 or 0.19% at $72.48 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $29.80 or 1.07% at $2,823.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.777 or about 2.5% at $32.170 an ounce.