The big banks will likely be the focus of Canadian trading on ThursdayGetty Images/iStockphoto
The big banks will likely be the focus of Canadian trading on Thursday, as the two largest of the group are due to report second-quarter performance.
This latest round of bank earnings got off to a lacklustre start on Wednesday, with Bank of Montreal missing forecasts on some key performance metrics, despite posting a healthy profit increase over the previous year. BMO's stock declined by 3.3 per cent on the day.
Investors will be looking for better from both Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank – together representing more than 12 per cent of the total market capitalization of the S&P/TSX composite index – on Thursday.
RBC is scheduled to release second-quarter financial statements before the start of trading. Analysts are forecasting adjusted earnings of $1.81 a share – representing year-over-year growth of 5.8 per cent – on revenue of $9.7-billion, according to Bloomberg data.
TD's results are expected in the afternoon, when analysts will be looking for earnings per share of a least $1.25, which would make for growth of 3.8 per cent over the same quarter last year.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is also on the premarket earnings docket, with 7.3-per-cent EPS growth being the mark to meet.
Meanwhile, U.S. earnings season is in its final stages, with a pair of large retailers set to release first-quarter financials on Thursday morning – Dollar Tree Inc. and Best Buy Co. Inc.
Consumer sectors are among the worst performers through this earnings season, which otherwise is shaping up to be the best in nearly six years, with S&P 500 earnings on track for 15-per-cent growth.
The retail carnage continued on Wednesday, with shares in Tiffany & Co. dropping by 9 per cent on the day after the company missed sales targets.
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Tim Shufelt