June 20 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, as oil prices surged after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between the two countries.
Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its next meeting, stimulating growth in the world's largest oil-consuming country and a drop in U.S. crude inventories also provided support to prices. futures on the S&P/TSX index SXFc1 were up 0.33% at 7:00 a.m. ET.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX .GSPTSE rose 8.44 points, or 0.05%, to 16,511.79 on Wednesday. Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures 1YMc1 were up 0.78% at 7:00 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures ESc1 rose 0.83% and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures NQc1 were up 1.23%. .N
TOP STORIES TOP/CAN
Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump. federal and provincial governments earned C$186 million in tax revenues from direct sales of cannabis in the first five-and-a-half months of legalization, Statistics Canada data showed on Wednesday, after two major provinces cut their revenue forecasts. Conservative Party leader unveiled his long-awaited climate and environmental plan on Wednesday that would eliminate the current federal carbon pricing program and focus on promoting green technologies. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS RCH/CA
Altagas Canada Inc ACI.TO : RBC raises price target to C$32 from C$23
Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO : Citigroup (NYSE:C) cuts price target to C$13 from C$15
First Quantum Minerals Ltd FM.TO : J.P. Morgan cuts rating to underweight from neutral
COMMODITIES AT 7:00 a.m. ET COM/WRAP
Gold futures GCc2 : $1,381.3; +2.64% GOL/
US crude CLc1 : $55.53; +3.29% O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 : $63.48; +2.69% O/R
U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON THURSDAY
0830 Current account for Q1: Expected -$125 bln; Prior
-$134.4 bln
0830 Initial jobless claims : Expected 220,000; Prior 222,000
0830 Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 217,750
0830 Continued jobless claims: Expected 1.688 mln; Prior 1.695 mln
0830 Philly Fed Business Index for June: Expected 11; Prior 16.6
0830 Philly Fed 6M Index for June: Prior 19.7
0830 Philly Fed Capex Index for June: Prior 23.3
0830 Philly Fed Employment for June: Prior 18.2
0830 Philly Fed Prices Paid for June: Prior 23.1
0830 Philly Fed New Orders for June: Prior 11
1000 Leading index change mm for May: Expected 0.1%; Prior -0.1%
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Canadian markets directory CANADA ($1= C$1.32)