January 23, 2014 - 5:49 AM
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market is positioned to open higher as commodity prices gain traction.
But the Canadian dollar is down again, a day after it fell nearly a cent. The loonie fell to 89.73 cents U.S in early trading, down 0.46 of a cent from Wednesday's close.
The central bank also noted that inflation has been lower than expected and won't return to its ideal target of two per cent until 2016.
In commodities, the February gold bullion contract rose $9 to US$1,248.50 an ounce.
The March crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 31 cents to US$97.04 a barrel.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial futures dropped 55 points to 16,262, the Nasdaq futures pulled back 4.20 points to 3,616.30 and the S&P 500 futures moved back 4.8 points to 1,833.80.
Canadian cheesemaker Saputo Inc. (TSX:SAP) has emerged victorious in a bidding war for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter after Australia's largest dairy producer called off the battle. The Murray Goulburn Co-Operative will sell its shares to Saputo, and expects to receive at least AU$92.8 million cash in return.
McDonald Corp. earned $1.4 billion, or $1.40 per share, in the fourth quarter, which is a penny more than Wall Street expected. The world's biggest hamburger chain also reported that global sales slipped 0.1 per cent at established locations. In the U.S., where it recently revamped its Dollar Menu, the figure fell 1.4 per cent.
In Europe, Germany's DAX slipped 0.1 per cent to 9,715.41 and the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies lost 0.1 per cent to 6,820.00. But France's CAC 40 was up 0.2 per cent to 4,335.56.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.8 per cent to close at 15,695.89 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 1.5 per cent to 22,733.90. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.2 per cent to 1,947.59.
The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China retreated 0.5 per cent to 2,042.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1 per cent to 5,263.00.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014