Bay Street Looks Headed For Positive Start

(RTTNews) - Higher Canadian and U.S. futures and positive European markets amid weak oil prices and lower bond yields point to a positive start for the Canadian market Thursday morning.

Data on new housing prices and raw materials prices for the month of August are due at 8:30 AM ET.

Canadian National Railway Company, and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or Amtrak, announced on Wednesday that they have signed a new eight-year operating agreement governing Amtrak service on CN owned rail lines.

This agreement resolves the decades long dispute before the Surface Transportation Board or STB concerning the terms and conditions for Amtrak services such as the City of New Orleans, Illini/Saluki, and Wolverine.

Luca Mining Corp., a Mexico-focused mining company, announced an agreement to acquire 100% of the El Barqueño property from Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. The company will pay $10 million at closing through the issuance of common shares to Agnico Eagle.

Canadian stocks edged lower on Wednesday as investors analyzed the impact of the interest rate hike announced by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traded firmly negative for much of the day's session before settling at 35,491.27, down by 90.80 points or 0.26%.

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets falling ahead of high-level U.S.-China talks scheduled for this weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary said the United States is open to discussing shared risks with China in upcoming AI talks.

Major European markets are up in positive territory today, lifted by weak oil prices and lower bond yields.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $2.73 or 2.67% at $99.70 a barrel.

Gold futures are up marginally at $4,389.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.451 or 0.69% at $65.370 an ounce.