TSX futures tick higher amid elevated oil prices

Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada's main stock index pointed higher on Wednesday, as energy stocks were buoyed by a fresh jump in oil prices.

Still guessing which stocks will beat the market? Our AI portfolio updates monthly and is outperforming the S&P 500 by 118%. See this month's list »

By 07:26 ET (11:26 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had risen by 5 points, or 0.2%.

On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX composite index advanced 0.5% to 36,107.96, finishing just below a more than three-week high notched on Friday.

Shares of jet maker Bombardier, in particular, climbed 4.4% after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned threats to ban the company from U.S. markets.

S&P, Nasdaq futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors assessed a raft of corporate earnings, along with ongoing uncertainty around the artificial intelligence trade and the Middle East conflict.

By 07:35 ET, the S&P 500 futures contract had gained 19 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had risen by 191 points, or 0.6%. Dow futures ticked up by 45 points, or 0.1%.

The main averages on Wall Street finished in mixed fashion on Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip both notching gains, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended a touch lower.

Unsure what to buy ahead of earnings? Our AI's recent pre-earnings calls delivered gains of +77% to +118% after results dropped. See this month's earnings picks »

Early in the session, unconfirmed reports that Qatar and Pakistan had put forward a proposal to revive talks to conclude the Iran war briefly sent oil prices down to $106 a barrel from $112 a barrels. The rumors bolstered sentiment, which has been dented in recent sessions by worries over the sustainability of massive debt-fueled AI infrastructure spending and elevated borrowing costs.

"The relief from energy that played out late in the European session meant equities rallied as investors overcame some of their earlier AI jitters," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note.

Yet benchmark Brent crude futures later moved higher, with traders reacting to a report that Iran's president believes "the U.S. will attack again if we negotiate." Brent was last floating around $110 a barrel.

Elsewhere, gold prices turned higher, with traders looking ahead to a key Federal Reserve interest rate meeting next week.

At 07:47 ET, spot gold had fallen 0.1% to $4,121.13 an ounce, while gold futures had declined 0.1% to $4,138.51 an ounce.

Gold has fallen more than 1% since the start of the week and remains down around a fifth since the Iran conflict erupted in late February, disrupting energy markets and pushing up oil prices. Worries over energy-driven inflation have underpinned bets that the central banks, including the Federal Reserve, may need to tighten monetary policy. Higher borrowing costs present a possible headwind for gold because the yellow metal does not pay interest.

Investors have few fresh signals to guide expectations ahead of the Fed's policy meeting next week. Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks on Friday did little to dislodge expectations that the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged on October 27-28, before raising borrowing costs at its final meeting of the year in December.

Global chip stocks rally as Super Micro forecast revives AI demand optimism

Applied Digital shares climb on Texas AI data center pact and bullish analyst call