TSX futures stabilize as Pelosi departs Taiwan amid U.S.-China tensions

[August 03, 2022]  (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index steadied on Wednesday after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan, following a visit which heightened Sino-U.S. tensions, while higher gold prices were set to buoy miners.

 A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is seen in Toronto June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo

Pelosi pledged solidarity and hailed Taiwan's democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.

Geopolitical tensions knocked down Canadian stocks on Tuesday, with Wall Street also ending lower.

Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed that Canadian manufacturing activity lost further momentum in July as production and new orders declined for the first time since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Canadian stock index looked set to open higher, with September futures on the S&P/TSX index up 0.1 % at 7:00 a.m. ET. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 187.59 points, or 0.95%, at 19,505.33 on Tuesday. [.TO]

Britain's competition regulator said on Wednesday that Canadian cloud-based software firm Dye & Durham should sell UK-based TM Group after its investigation identified competition concerns.

U.S. futures also edged higher on Wednesday, with investor focus on services activity data due later in the day after a report earlier this week added to economic slowdown woes, while Paypal shares gained on raising profit outlook.

Dow e-minis were up 109 points, or 0.34%, at 6:53 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.32%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 35.5 points, or 0.27%. [.N]

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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