Stocks in for weak open as commodities dip, investors await Bernanke remarks

The Toronto stock market could be headed for a weak open Wednesday amid lower commodity prices and ahead of remarks later in the morning from U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.03 of a cent to 94.67 cents US.

U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher open a day after North American indexes fell sharply following a surprising drop in U.S. consumer confidence reported Tuesday by the Conference Board in its February report.

The Dow Jones industrials futures rose 15 points to 10,314, the Nasdaq futures advanced six points to 1,807 and the S&P 500 futures gained 1.4 points to 1,098.6.

Oil prices remained below US$79 a barrel Wednesday as a report showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell last week _ a tentative sign that demand may be improving. The April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down 31 cents to US$78.55 a barrel.

The April gold contract on the Nymex declined $9.40 to US$1,093.80 an ounce while March copper in New York dipped two cents to US$3.19 a pound.

Bernanke starts his semiannual two-day testimony before Congress about the health of the economy.

The Fed surprised investors last week by hiking its discount rate, which it charges banks for emergency loans. Traders will want Bernanke to continue to provide reassurances that it plans to keep its benchmark rate at historic lows to encourage growth.

On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to show that new home sales rose in January, after declining sharply a month earlier. Sales of new homes likely rose 5.3 per cent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 360,000 units, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

For this morning’s market data tables, click here.</p

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.