Canadian stocks are poised for a lower open Wednesday as commodities dived to their respective fresh multi-month lows as the euro zone debt worries resurfaced after Greece leaders failed to form a coalition government.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open.
On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index extended losses for a third session, dipping 145.48 points or 1.27 percent to 11,343.05.
The price of crude oil slipped back near a seven-month low Wednesday morning amid concerns over demand growth. Also, traders await cues from the official crude oil inventories report from the EIA, due out later during the session. Crude for June dipped $1.12 to $92.86 a barrel.
The price of gold dived to a 8-month low Wednesday morning amid lingering worries over the political developments in the Greece. Gold for June lost $15.80 to $1,541.30 an ounce.
In corporate news from Canada, multi-channel retailer Sears Canada Inc. (SCC.TO) swung to profit in first quarter, reporting net earnings of C$93.1 million or C$0.91 per share as against a loss of C$47.0 million or C$0.45 per share last year. The company said the recent quarter's earnings included a gain of C$164.3 million this year representing the pre-tax gain on lease terminations of three stores as announced earlier.
Global oil and gas industry equipment services provider Hyduke Energy Services (HYD.TO) reported a sharp increase in its first quarter net profit of C$1.98 million or C$0.08 per share compared to C$154 thousand or C$0.01 per share last year.
Oil and gas exploration and production company Tethys Petroleum (TPL.TO) reported a wider first quarter loss of $6.7 million or $0.02 per share, compared to $6.3 million or $0.02 per share last year.
Oil and gas company Pinecrest Energy (PRY.V) swung to profit in first quarter, reporting net income of C$5.95 million or C$0.03 per share compared to a net loss of C$326,621 or C$0.00 per share last year.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales recorded 1.9 percent growth to C$49.70 billion in the month of March to register its largest gain since September 2011. Sales of petroleum and coal products increased 4.5 percent to $7.5 billion, the highest level since July 2008. The increase was largely the result of higher sales volumes at many oil refineries.
From the U.S., a report from the Commerce Department revealed that housing starts rose 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 717,000 in April from the revised March estimate of 699,000. Economists had expected housing starts to increase to 690,000 from the 654,000 originally reported for the previous month. At the same time, building permits fell 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 715,000 in April from the revised March rate of 769,000. Building permits, which are seen as an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to drop to 725,000 from the 747,000 originally reported for March.
Elsewhere, euro zone annual inflation for April was confirmed at 2.6 percent, down from 2.7 percent in March, final data from Eurostat showed. Nonetheless, inflation continues to stay above the European Central Bank's 'below, but close to 2 percent' target. Monthly inflation was 0.5 percent in April.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England said prospects for U.K. growth remain unusually uncertain. U.K. economic growth is set to remain subdued, while inflation is judged to be somewhat higher than expected three months ago, the BoE said in its quarterly Inflation Report published today.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.