Canadian dollar down, index futures negative ahead of North American market open

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 103.53 points at 14,090.34, after falling 57.66 points on Tuesday. This does not bode well for the market, Petursson said, noting that a combination of factors were hurting financial stocks, including banks’ ties to commodities-related companies and the low interest rate environment.

September copper shed 3.05 cents to US$2.32 a pound, and the September contract for natural gas fell 7.3 cents to US$2.728 per thousand cubic feet.

Stock futures pointed to a lower start for Canada’s main stock index on Wednesday as oil prices slipped further and investors were cautious ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.

Iran is expected to increase its oil exports once Western sanctions are lifted after ratification of a recent nuclear deal.

Cieszynski said oil, which has lost more than half its value since hitting highs above $110 in July 2014, has become oversold in the past six months as investors reacted to headlines about increasing supply and poor prospects for demand.

The TSX fell for the second consecutive session Tuesday as volatility in Chinese stock markets dragged down commodity prices.

“The U.S. seems to be the only area of positivity when it comes to global GDP”, he said.

Markets in the United States are turning in a mixed performance.

“It’s not a clear-cut story of this is good and getting better, it’s a lot of stop and go”, he said.

The loonie traded at 76.40 cents US, down just 0.02 of a U.S. cent from Monday. U.S. indexes were also down by about 1 percent.

“Unless oil rebounds it’s hard to make a compelling case for the Canadian dollar”, he said.