Bay Street Likely To Open On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to see a subdued start on Thursday with investors looking for directional clues. Weak oil prices may weigh on energy stocks and limit market's upside.

U.S. non-farm payroll data, due on Friday, is likely to provide some clues about the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path.

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

Canada posted a trade deficit of about C$ 1 billion in July. Imports contracted by 5.4% to C$ 61.4 billion, while exports rose by 0.7% to C$ 60.4 billion in the month.

In corporate news, BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) said it plans to separate the internet of things or IoT and Cybersecurity business units into two independently-operated entities. The company noted that the main objective of the separation is to pursue a subsidiary initial public offering for the IoT business, with a launch targeted in the first half of the next fiscal year.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO) announced today that it has agreed to purchase TotalEnergies EP Canada Ltd., which holds a 31.23% working interest in the Fort Hills oil sands mining project (Fort Hills) for $1.468 billion.

After three successive days of losses, the Canadian market managed to close marginally higher on Wednesday even as energy stocks fell sharply on weak crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to 18,847.09 early on in the session, ended with a small gain of 13.89 points or 0.07% at 19,034.81.

Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday after oil prices tumbled and bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic fell from their highest levels for more than a decade amid signs that U.S. economic growth is slowing.

European stocks are struggling to hold gains amid worries about economic slowdown due to a slew of disappointing regional data.

German exports fell in August, and the construction sector contracted in September. In France, industrial production fell, and in the U.K., the construction industry experienced the biggest slide in activity in more than three years last month.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $1.32 or 1.57% at $82.90 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $1.50 or 0.1% at $1,836.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.099 or 0.47% at $21.245 an ounce.