By Commodity News Service Canada
WINNIPEG, Aug. 8 (CNS Canada) – The Canadian dollar was roughly steady this morning, up 0.01 of a cent shortly after open. It was trading at US$0.7886 at 8:49 CDT (C$1.2681 per US$1). On Aug. 4 the Canadian dollar closed the day at US$0.7913, or C$1.2683.
U.S. stock indexes saw few changes early this morning as investors wait for reports from major retail companies Macy’s, Kohl’s, and JC Penny. All are expected to issue quarterly reports this week.
Oil prices were firm this morning, following news of reduced oil output from Saudi Arabia. That should have pushed prices higher, but higher output from other large producers limited gains. WTI crude was down 36 cents U.S. this morning (0.73%) at US$49.03 per barrel.
The S&P/TSX was up 17.05 points (0.11%) to 15,275.02 at 10 a.m. CDT. Better-than-expected earnings by Valeant pharmaceuticals International helped lift the index. Company shares gained 8.6 per cent to C$20.79 following a strong quarterly report. Tech stock losses limited overall gains.
