Bay Street Likely To Open With Negative Bias

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open with a negative bias on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues and commodity markets.

In company news, BRP Inc. (DOO.TO) reported second-quarter earnings of C$338.7 million, or C$4.26 per share, compared to C$237.7 million, or C$2.94 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) said it expects preliminary revenue for second quarter fiscal year 2024 to be about $132 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report revenues of $156.85 million for the second quarter.

Precision Drilling Corp. (PD.TO) announced that it has inked a deal to acquire CWC Energy Services Corp. (CWC) for around $141 million in stock and cash.

The deal comprises of 947,909 Precision shares valued at around $88 million as of September 1, a cash portion of $14 million, and the assumption of CWC's outstanding debt.

Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY.TO) said on Thursday that it entered into a deal to acquire Repsol Canada Energy Partnership, for $468 million in cash.

On the economic front, the total value of building permits in Canada fell by 1.5% from a month earlier to $11.7 billion in July 2023, after an upwardly revised 7.5% rise in the previous month.

The Ivey Business School will release a report on Canadian economic activity for the month of August later in the morning. The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index in Canada fell to 48.6 in July 2023 from 50.2 in the prior month.

The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Wednesday due to sustained selling at several counters after the Bank of Canada held its interest rate unchanged but did not rule out further tightening.

The central bank left its main interest rate unchanged at 5% after two back-to-back rises. The bank cited a shift in the economy to a weaker phase and easing labor market pressures as the reason for its decision.

The central bank, which said it will continue to monitor inflation dynamics, has not ruled out further tightening.

Healthcare, utilities, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks were among the major losers.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to a low of 20,181.61, ended with a loss of 186.80 points or 0.92% at 20,226.96.

Asian stocks drifted lower on Thursday after China reported weak trade figures for August, adding to worries about slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance, with some counters finding support after recent sharp declines.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude futures are down $0.57 or 0.65% at $86.97 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $1.40 or 0.7% at $1,945.60 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.228 or 0.97% at $23.275 an ounce.