Bay Street Seen Opening On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - The Canadian market is likely to open on a somewhat subdued note Thursday morning. Bank stocks are likely to be in focus, with investors reacting to earnings updates from BMO and CIBC.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) reported a net income of $2,304 million for the fourth-quarter of fiscal 2024, compared with $1,710 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income was $1,542 million in the latest quarter, compared with $2,243 million a year ago.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) reported adjusted net income of $1,889 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, compare with $1,522 million.

Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO) announced that it posted a net profit of $0.8 million or $0.05 per share on a fully diluted basis in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million or $0.02 per share for the same period in fiscal 2024.

On the economic front, Canadian trade data for the month of October is due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Ivey PMI reading for November is due at 10 AM ET.

The Canadian market hit a new high, but failed to hold early gains and settled just marginally up on Wednesday as losses in energy and consumer discretionary stocks outweighed gains in technology and industrials sectors.

The mood remained cautious with investors digesting earnings updates from major banks and economic data, and looking ahead to U.S. non-farm payroll data due this week.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which posted a new intraday high at 25,743.53 in early trades, dropped to a low of 25,573.61 and finally ended the session at 25,641.18, up 5.45 points or 0.02%.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as traders took stock of the political crises in France and South Korea as well as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicating that the U.S. central bank will cut rates again when it meets later this month.

Chinese shares ended on a firm note as investors awaited cues from an upcoming annual policy meeting that could roll out new stimulus measures.

European stocks are hovering near one-month highs as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a way out of France's political crisis. Prime Minister Michel Barnier has been ousted in a no-confidence vote over a budget dispute. That makes him the shortest serving prime minister in modern French history.

It is likely that the country will remain without a government for several weeks, if not months, until Macron appoints a new prime minister, who will have to form a new government.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.33 or 0.48% at $68.21 a barrel.

Gold futures are down marginally at $2,676.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.040 or 0.13% at $31.875 an ounce.