TSX futures point higher with upcoming Bank of Canada meeting in focus

Futures linked to Canada’s main stock index edged up on Tuesday, with investors assessing movements in oil and gold prices and looking ahead to a series of central bank interest rate decisions this week.

By 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had climbed by 5 points, or 0.2%.

On Monday, the S&P/TSX composite index jumped by 0.4% to 35,944.16, bouncing from its lowest closing level since October 14 in the preceding session.

Sentiment was buoyed by an election victory for the Conservative Party in the province of British Columbia, according to analysts cited by Reuters. The party has vowed to increase liquefied natural gas production.

At the same time, traders are looking ahead to a Bank of Canada interest rate announcement on Wednesday. The central bank is tipped to lift rates by a quarter of a percentage point, LSEG data cited by Reuters showed.

U.S. futures point up

U.S. stock index futures tick higher, ahead of a host of major tech earnings and a Federal Reserve interest rate decision later this week.

By 08:12 ET, S&P 500 futures had edged up by 24 points, or 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures had gained 117 points, or 0.4%, and Dow futures had risen by 164 points, or 0.3%.

On Monday, the main averages on Wall Street gained, fueled by enthusiasm for recently battered tech stocks after Anthropic’s filing for an initial public offering. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.8%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28%.

Tech stocks were among the best performers, underpinned by Anthropic’s long-awaited IPO filing. The document highlighted the artificial intelligence startup’s ambitious plans for growth, as well as skyrocketing revenue growth.

But the filing also underlined the steep costs associated with developing and scaling advanced AI models. The company’s net loss in the first half of 2026 surged fivefold to about $80.7 billion.

Anthropic, which plans to trade under the ticker symbol ANT, is reportedly being valued at around $1.5 trillion, down from earlier projections of $2 trillion.

Its plans for a public listing come amid heightened scrutiny towards AI-related stocks, as investors increasingly questioned whether the debt-fueled spending in the sector would be able to yield adequate returns. These questions have battered AI and tech valuations over much of the past two weeks.

A host of megacap tech earnings are expected to provide more cues on the AI trade this week. Alphabet and Microsoft will report September-quarter earnings on Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday.

Memory chip maker Seagate Technology is set to report on Tuesday, as are plane maker Boeing Co and copper giant Freeport-McMoRan.

Investors will also be keeping tabs on Meta Platforms, after Nvidia said it will invest $3 billion in the Instagram-owner’s share offering as part of an expanded AI partnership.

Elsewhere, the Fed is also scheduled to kick off a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank broadly expected to leave rates unchanged after the gathering. The Fed lifted interest rates in September, its first hike since 2023.

Analysts have said that comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will be closely scrutinized for more insight on the central bank’s plans to raise rates further. Warsh warned last month that sticky inflation could bolster the case for more hikes.

Beyond the Fed, third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product data and the September reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge -- are slated to be released on Thursday.

Oil prices choppy

Oil prices oscillated around the flatline in volatile trading on Tuesday, as traders assessed ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

As of 08:13 ET, benchmark Brent crude futures had fallen 0.8% to $114.95 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had dropped 0.7% to $101.07 per barrel.

Last week, Brent crude futures touched six-month highs, driven by fears of further attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial shipping in the Middle East.

The latest diplomatic push has focused on talks involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, while Qatari officials have also been engaging with Tehran in efforts to prevent the conflict from widening.

Gold muted

Gold prices briefly dropped below $4,000 an ounce on Tuesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision this week and assessed diplomatic efforts to ease the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Spot gold were last mostly steady at $4,017.68 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures declined 0.2% to $4,031.50 an ounce. The yellow metal gained 0.5% in the previous session before giving up ground, with traders eyeing the prospect of the Fed keeping rates unchanged on Wednesday.

"Gold is retesting significant support just as it did in June and July. The bulls will be hoping that support holds again, as a protracted break below $4,000 could portend a retest of $3,500," analysts at Trade Nation said in a note.