Skip to main content
inside the market

The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.

U.S. and Canadian stock futures are pointing to more gains when markets open this morning, although there are few signs that the kind of robust rally seen on Thursday will redevelop. Futures for the S&P 500 are off their highs from earlier,  now up only 0.02 per cent. Crude oil futures, which fell back to fresh five-year lows on Thursday, are up 1.5 per cent ahead of the opening bell.

The S&P 500 enjoyed its biggest one-day gain on Thursday since January 2013 and has climbed 4.5 per cent over the last two days. The TSX isn't doing too shabby either, with the S&P/TSX composite surging 4.7 per cent in the past three days, the most since November 2011.

That has left the TSX up 5.3 per cent for this year, but that masks the beating the energy sector suffered at the hands of plunging crude oil prices, as the world's leading producers refrained from cutting output amid a supply glut.

Today, there's little on the economic calendar to add fresh insight on the debate surrounding the Federal Reserve's next moves. On Wednesday, the Fed issued a clever statement on monetary policy that suggested it would be patient in hiking rates - even while removing key language that rates would stay low for a "considerable time." Nevertheless, U.S. stocks today could experience volatility as a result of "quadruple witching" - the expiration of stock options, index options, index futures and single-stock futures all on the same day.

A big focus today in Canada will be BlackBerry and its mixed earnings report. Adjusted profit in its last quarter of 1 cent a share easily beat Street expectations of a 5 cents loss - but revenues were well below expectations. The stock is down about 5 per cent in the U.S. premarket.

In overseas markets, the Nikkei enjoyed a rally of 2.3 per cent amid weakness in the Japanese yen. The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged at its final meeting of the year - which had been expected. The central bank did raise its economic assessment, however, citing signs of a pickup in exports.

Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.

MARKETS:

Futures:

S&P 500 +0.02 per cent; Dow +0.08 per cent; Nasdaq +0.19 per cent; S&P/TSX +0.32  per cent

Equities:

Hong Kong's Hang Seng +1.25 per cent

Shanghai composite index +1.68 per cent

Japan's Nikkei +2.39 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.43 per cent

Germany's DAX -0.25 per cent

France's CAC 40 -0.27 per cent

Stoxx 600 -0.01 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Jan) +2.20 per cent at $55.30 (U.S.) a barrel

Natural gas (Nymex Mar) -1.16 at $3.59

Gold (Comex Feb) +0.08 per cent at $1,195.80 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Mar) +1.21 per cent at $2.89 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 86.18 (U.S.), down 0.0016

U.S. dollar index up 0.17 at 89.41

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.21 per cent, down 0.006

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

The Canadian consumer price index for November rose 2.0 per cent from a year earlier versus Street forecasts for a rise of 2.3 per cent.

Canadian retail sales for November were flat from October; the Street was expecting a decline of 0.2 per cent.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

BlackBerry earned $793-million (U.S.) in revenue in the quarter ended Nov. 29, down from $916-million in the previous quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn revenue in the mid-$900-millions. However the company managed an adjusted profit of 1 cent per share, compared to a loss of 2 cents in the last quarter and analyst expectations of a 3-to-4-cent loss. Shares are down about 5 per cent in the premarket.

American Apparel Inc has been approached by private equity firm Irving Place Capital for a possible takeover, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Shares are up 3 per cent in the premarket.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

TD downgrades Parallel Energy Trust to "reduce" from "hold" and cut its price target to 75 cents (Canadian) from $3.25. It sees a high risk that the company will need to further cut its dividend.

Raymond James downgraded Black Diamond Group to "market perform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $18 (Canadian) from $20.

Raymond James upgraded Interfor to "strong buy" from "outperform" and raised its price target to $23.50 (Canadian) from $21.25.

Desjardins Securities upgraded Capstone Infrastructure to "buy" citing "oversold conditions" but trimmed its price target to $4 (Canadian) from $4.50.

Desjardins downgraded Alimentation Couche-Tard to "hold" from "buy" but hiked its price target to $49 (Canadian) from $44.

Raymond James cut its price target on Barrick Gold to $14.50 (U.S.) from $17 and maintained a "market perform" rating.

THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:

What you need to know about ECN fees.

Chinese stocks have seen strong outperformance during the recent selloff.

The best thing for active managers? Passive investors.

Looking for the Santa Claus rally? Better stay up at night.

The conventional wisdom on oil is always wrong.

----

Have feedback on our daily Before the Bell report and suggestions on how to make it more useful in your investing day? Please contact Inside the Market Editor Darcy Keith at dakeith@globeandmail.com.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe