Bay Street Seen Opening On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a subdued note on Thursday, tracking weak clues from Asian and European markets. Slightly higher crude oil prices might trigger some buying in the energy space.

With the crucial U.S. non-farm payroll data due on Friday, the mood is likely to remain cautious.

Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB.TO) reported net income of $181.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.89 for the year ended October 31, 2023, compared with $226.6 million and $4.95 for the year ended October 31, 2022.

For the fourth quarter of 2023, the bank reported net income of $30.6 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.67, compared with $55.7 million and $1.26 for the fourth quarter of 2022.

Intact Financial Corp. (IFC.TO) and its subsidiary Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Limited (RSA) announced that they have reached an agreement to sell RSA's UK direct Personal Lines operations, representing about £165 million of annual premiums, to Admiral Group plc.

On the economic front, data on Canadian building permits for the month of October is due at 8:30 AM ET.

The Canadian market ended weak on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in energy and technology sectors.

Investors digested the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision, and largely stayed cautious, looking ahead to crucial U.S. non-farm payroll report due on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which climbed to 20,492.06 after opening marginally up, ended down 101.72 points or 0.5% at 20,274.21, near the day's low.

The Bank of Canada held its target for the overnight rate at a 22-year high of 5% as expected, keeping it unchanged for a third straight meeting.

Asian stocks ended Thursday's session mostly lower as Australian trade data disappointed, and the yen firmed up on expectations for a hawkish BoJ pivot.

Chinese trade proved to be a mixed bag, with exports edging higher for the first time in six months in November, while imports showed negative growth - suggesting a sticky weak domestic demand environment.

European stocks are slightly lower a little past noon on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about economic slowdown. Data from Eurostat showed the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, reversing from a downwardly revised 0.1% growth in the preceding three-month period.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.47 or 0.68% at 69.85 a barrel.

Gold futures are up marginally at $2,048.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.013 or 0.05% at $24.215 an ounce.