TSX futures point down during chaotic earnings season and key data influx

Investing.com -- Futures tied to Canada’s main stock index were down minimally in premarket trading Thursday, as investors digested key earning reports from tech giants Meta and Microsoft.

By 8:40 ET, the bellwether S&P/TSX 60 index’s standard futures contract was down 3 points or 0.2% ahead of market open. This follows yesterday’s marginal fall of 2.2 points or 0.1%

In Wednesday’s trading, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index declined by 32.8 points or 0.1%, having ended higher on Tuesday by 75.89, or 0.3%, at 24,874.48, notching its highest closing level since April 2.

Underpinning sentiment was yesterday’s GDP report, showing GDP retraction of 0.2% in February, following a 0.4% GDP increase in January. Goods-producing industries drove the downturn.

CIBC (TSX:CM)’s Andrew Grantham said, "Given that Q1 growth was partly driven by tariff front-running activity, and that new tariffs have been applied on Canadian goods subsequently, we continue to expect a modest contraction in GDP during the second quarter of the year. That would be closer to the Bank of Canada’s more pessimistic scenario 2 projection within the April MPR, and evidence of this within upcoming data should bring a 25bp interest rate cut at the June meeting."

Underpinning investment sentiment in Canada was cautious during a chaotic earnings season and amid uncertainty fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s volatile trade policy.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals won a minority parliament in the election Monday, as Canadians hope Carney can hold fast to his tough stance on Trump, prioritizing economic independence and Canadian sovereignty. 

U.S. stock futures 

Trading in U.S. stock index futures pointed to gains on Thursday, as investors gauged key earnings and awaited upcoming labor data.

As of 8:50 ET, S&P 500 Futures pointed upward by 57.5 points or 1%, Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 315.3 points or 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Futures implied a gain of 257 points or 0.6%.

In yesterday’s trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 141.7 points or 0.4%, and the S&P 500 jumped by 8.2 points or 0.2%. The NASDAQ Composite fell 15 points or 0.1% on the day. 

The U.S.’ growth and inflation data showed a smaller-than-expected rise in employment for April, and March’s PCE index showed a 2.3% inflation increase, downward from February’s indication of 2.7%.

After Wednesday’s close, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and upbeat guidance that pointed to increased spending on artificial intelligence cooling fears about slowing AI demand. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also outperformed expectations, bolstered by its Azure cloud business, which grew 33% y-o-y. 

In Thursday’s premarket earnings reports, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) posted a surprising decline in Q1 comparable sales, sending shares down 1%. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) posted higher-than-expected Q1 revenue, but shares fell 4% on disappointing Zepbound drug sales.

Other key metrics set to be reported on Thursday include U.S. jobless claims data, which investors are set to study ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.

Crude continues fall

Oil prices fell further Thursday, after the week’s selloff on concerns of weakening demand following the contraction of the U.S. economy as well as the potential for increased supply.

By 9:00 ET, Crude Oil WTI Futures were falling 1.1%, pricing in at $57.59 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures lost 1%, moving to $60.52 per barrel.

Both contracts have lost over 15% so far this month, the biggest percentage drop since November 2021.

Gold Futures drop

Gold traded downwards on Thursday, as investors have started a turn back to stocks in a resilient market.

At 9:05 ET, Gold Spot fell 2% to $3,223.01/oz, while Gold Futures traded lower by 2.7%, pricing in at $3,230.61/oz.

The precious metal has experienced a fall in markets lately, after hitting record highs continually over the past months.

(Peter Nurse also contributed to this article)