The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the morning to reflect latest developments. Colin Cieszynski will return.
Oil prices are leading equity markets lower on Wednesday, for the most part, after oil workers in Kuwait called off a three-day strike, which had helped to support energy markets in the aftermath of the failed Doha talks.
Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange for delivery in June fell by 1.6 per cent to around $41.80 (U.S) per barrel as of 7:30 am, as energy traders turned their focus back to the global oversupply.
The strike had reduced Kuwait's daily production by 60 per cent, which helped crude prices to bounce back quickly after major energy exporters failed to reach an agreement on a production freeze.
The return of Kuwaiti production, in addition to new data late Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute showing a rise in U.S. oil supplies, weighed on European energy stocks on Wednesday.
European stocks stepped back from a three-month high, as the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell slightly.
And the rally in North American stocks so far this week looks vulnerable, with futures initially modestly lower this morning before swinging to slight gains in the lead-up to the opening bell.
The S&P 500 closed above the 2,100-mark on Tuesday for the first time since December, having risen by 15 per cent since bottoming out in February. The Dow Jones industrial average, meanwhile, broke through 18,000 on Monday for the first time since last July.
A shaky earnings season continues to unfold on Wednesday with 24 companies in the S&P 500 reporting financial results. Coca-Cola Co. was down in pre-market trading after surpassing analysts' forecasts for first-quarter profits but falling short on revenue.
Earnings reports for the big U.S. banks wrapped up on Tuesday when Goldman Sachs reported a sharp decline in profits from one year ago, which still beat expectations.
In Canada, the earnings focus is on Canadian Pacific Railway this morning, which easily beat expectations while also reporting a hike in its dividend and a new share buyback program.
Now, here is a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.
MARKET DATA: (as of 7 a.m. ET:)
Futures
Dow +0.02 per cent; S&P 500 +0.07 per cent; Nasdaq: +0.13 per cent; TSX 60 -0.1 per cent
Equities
Japan's Nikkei 225 +0.19 per cent
Shanghai composite index -2.31 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.93 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.19 per cent
London's FTSE -0.27 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.23 per cent
Commodities
WTI crude oil (Nymex June) -1.77 per cent at $41.72 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex June) -0.41 per cent at $1,249.20 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex May) -0.45 per cent at $2.21 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies
Canadian dollar -0.0001 at 78.90 cents (U.S.)
U.S. dollar index +0.094 at 94.070
Bonds
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield -0.64 at 1.77 per cent
KEY ECONOMIC RELEASES
Canadian February wholesale trade sales fell 2.2 per cent from January versus an estimated 0.4 per cent drop.
Still to come:
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for March. Consensus is an annualized rate increase of 4.1 per cent.
(10:30 a.m. ET) EIA petroleum status report
KEY STOCKS TO WATCH
Canadian Pacific Railway boosted its quarterly dividend 43 per cent to 50 cents a share. It also announced a buyback of its shares of up to 5 per cent. Adjusted Q1 EPS was $2.50 versus Street expectations of $2.40. U.S.-listed shares up 0.1 per cent in the premarket.
Coco-Cola reported adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 44 cents. But sales fell for the fourth straight quarter as demand for its fizzy drinks declined in Europe and a strong dollar eroded the value of sales in markets outside the United States, including Latin America. Shares were down 1 per cent in premarket trading.
Shares of Intel were down 2.4 percent in premarket trading after the chipmaker lowered its revenue forecast for the year. It also announced up to 12,000 layoffs.
Lexmark jumped 10.5 per cent in premarket trading after it agreed to be taken private by a group of investors led by China-based Apex Technology Co and PAG Asia Capital in a deal valued at $3.6 billion net of cash.
Earnings include: Abbott Laboratories; Altagas Ltd.; American Express Co.; Amphenol Corp.; Atrium Mortgage Investment Corp.; Citrix Systems Inc.; Crown Holdings Inc.; EMC Corp.; F5 Networks Inc.; Graco Inc.; Mattel Inc.; Metro Inc.; Newmont Mining Corp.; Qualcomm Inc.; Raymond James Financial Inc.; TransForce Inc.; U.S. Bancorp.; United Continental Holdings Inc.; Watsco Inc.; Yum! Brands Inc.
Also see: Wednesday's small-cap stocks to watch
With files from wire services
Tim Shufelt