Resource stocks could pressure the Toronto stock market at the open Wednesday as prices for oil and metals backed off ahead of the release of the latest reading on U.S. durable goods orders.
The Canadian dollar was off 0.05 of a cent to 100.46 cents US.
U.S. futures were higher with the Dow Jones industrial futures up 42 points to 13,166, the Nasdaq futures gained 8.2 points to 2,784 and the S&P 500 futures were ahead 4.1 points to 1,410.5.
Economists expect that U.S. durable goods orders for February — products expected to last at least three years, such as appliances, cars, machinery and airplanes — grew by three per cent in February, following a big 3.7% decline in January.
U.S. economic indicators have mostly surpassed expectations this year, particularly with regard to the jobs market, and that has supported stocks. An easing in Europe’s debt crisis has also helped, leaving the TSX up almost five per cent year to date while the Dow industrials are ahead about eight per cent.
However, markets stalled Tuesday after the Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence slipped in March and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia reported that a measure of regional manufacturing plunged this month.
Demand concerns depressed commodity prices as the May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 85 cents to US$106.48 a barrel.
Copper prices fell four cents to US$3.84 a pound while bullion backed off $7.90 to US$1,677 an ounce.
The disappointing U.S. data Tuesday sent mainland Chinese shares to their biggest loss in almost four months, with investors worrying that weak U.S. consumer demand could add to the contraction already being experienced by Chinese manufacturers.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 2.7% while the Shenzhen Composite Index dived 4.1%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.7% a day after the benchmark shot to a one-year high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.8% and South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.4%.
European bourses were little changed with London’s FTSE 100 index up 0.05%, Frankfurt’s DAX edged up 0.1% while the Paris CAC 40 added 0.03%.
In corporate news, CVTech Group Inc. (TSX:CVT) dropped to a loss of $1.4 million in the fourth quarter as it booked a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $2.9 million. That compared to a profit of $3 million a year ago. The company builds and maintains electrical transmission lines in Quebec and the eastern United States.
Canadian Helicopters Group Inc. (TSX:CHL.A) had a $10.2-million profit in the fourth quarter, a far cry from the $28.8 million loss the company handed in a year earlier. The Montreal-based company’s revenue for the quarter grew by 60% to $68.9 million. On a per-share basis the net income for the quarter amounted to 78 cents per share — blowing past the consensus estimate of 42 cents per share compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX:CRK) has signed a deal to buy two mines in Australia from AuRico Gold Inc. (TSX:AUQ) in a deal worth up to $105 million, the companies said Tuesday. Crocodile Gold said deal will add 155,000 to 175,000 ounces of production for 2012 to bring the company to between 230,000 and 250,000 ounces for the year.