CANADA STOCKS-Futures higher as commodity prices rise
July 20 (Reuters) - Futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Thursday as commodity prices climbed to near five-month highs and oil held steady.
September futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.18 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.
Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as a jump in the price of oil to a six-week high sent energy stocks rallying across the board.
Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.03 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.02 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.04 percent.
(Morning News Call newsletter http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Morning_News_Call/MNC_US.pdf ; The Day Ahead newsletter http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/The_Day_Ahead/TDA_NAM.pdf)
TOP STORIES
Rogers Communications Inc, Canada's largest wireless company, posted a 35 percent rise in second-quarter profit as it added more subscribers.
BlackBerry Ltd said on Thursday it has won the right to sell tools for encrypting phone calls and text messages to the U.S. federal government, garnering an endorsement from the National Security Agency for the products.
Canadian electric utility Hydro One Ltd said on Wednesday that it would buy rival Avista Corp for about C$6.7 billion ($5.32 billion) to expand into the U.S. Northwest.
Little major construction will happen on Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion this year although construction remains on schedule to begin in September, company President Ian Anderson said on Wednesday.
ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd: RBC cuts rating to "sector perform" from "outperform"
Transat AT Inc: CIBC raises rating to "neutral" from "underperformer"
COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET
Gold futures: $1,236.8; -0.35 pct
US crude: $47.18; +0.13 pct
Brent crude: $49.78; +0.16 pct
LME 3-month copper: $5,974; +0.13 pct
U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON THURSDAY
08:30 Initial jobless claims: Expected 245,000; Prior 247,000
08:30 Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 245,750
08:30 Continued jobless claims: Expected 1.950 mln; Prior 1.945 mln
08:30 Philly Fed Business Index for July: Expected 24.0; Prior 27.6
08:30 Philly Fed 6M Index for July: Prior 31.30
08:30 Philly Fed Capex Index for July: Prior 28.60
08:30 Philly Fed Employment for July: Prior 16.10
08:30 Philly Fed Prices Paid for July: Prior 23.60
08:30 Philly Fed New Orders for July: Prior 25.90
10:00 Leading index change mm for June: Expected 0.4 pct; Prior 0.3 pct
FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES:
TSX market report
Canadian dollar and bonds report
Reuters global stocks poll for Canada
Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.26) (Reporting by Riniki Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
