Canada's bank headquarters are shrouded in fog as a sign displays TSX numbers on December 30, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
October 03, 2012 - 9:14 AM
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market could move a bit higher early Wednesday as data on U.S. private-sector jobs mildly outdid expectations.
Payroll processor ADP reported that companies added 162,000 jobs last month, slightly better than consensus expectations, but down from August. The data shows that growth isn't picking up momentum.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.30 of a cent to 101.30 cents US.
Wall Street was poised for a soft open, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.1 per cent.
Meanwhile a report from Royal LePage showed that the average price of a resale home in Canada rose between 1.8 and 4.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year. The cost of an average two-storey home in Canada increased four per cent to $403,747, while detached bungalows rose 4.8 per cent to $366,773.
Also due this morning is a services sector survey from the Institute for Supply Management. A surprisingly strong manufacturing report earlier this week helped shore up markets.
In commodities, November crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down $1.37 to US$90.52 a barrel.
December gold bullion rose $2.90 to US$1,778.50 an ounce, while December copper was down 2.4 cents at US$3.78 a pound.
Spain's prime minister indicated his cash-strapped country would not request an imminent bailout, despite reports Tuesday that suggested otherwise.
Madrid is under pressure to ask for financial assistance from the European Central Bank to keep a lid on its borrowing costs but the government has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget policies. Germany is also pushing Spain to delay such a move because it is wary of presenting yet another rescue plan for a vote in parliament.
In Europe, a survey of the continent's services sector showed weakness in the key economies of Germany and France and sharp downturns in financially weakened countries like Spain.
By late morning in London, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.1 per cent at 5,814 while Germany's DAX was up 0.3 per cent at 7,328. The CAC-40 in France was barely changed at 3,415.
Earlier, trading was lacklustre in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.5 per cent to close at 8,746.87 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng see-sawed until closing 0.2 per cent higher at 20,888.28.
Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for public holidays.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012