The Toronto stock market looked set to advance Wednesday after two days of punishing losses sparked by a collapse in oil prices to below US$50 a barrel and worries about the knock-on effects of such a decline.

• The Canadian dollar was little changed after losing half a cent on Tuesday, up 0.07 of a cent to 84.62 cents US.
• U.S. futures were also in the positive column after also ushering in 2015 trading with big declines as the Dow Jones industrial futures gained 113 points to 17,403, the Nasdaq rose 23.5 points to 4,125.8 while the S&P 500 futures were up 14.4 points to 2,008.8.
• Oil prices stabilized for the moment with the February crude contract in New York ahead 33 cents to US$48.26 after diving to as low as $46.83 earlier in the morning. Prices had tumbled $5 over the last two days alone, adding up to a 55 per cent plunge in prices since the highs of last June.

Traders will be watching data out of Canada and the U.S.

• The U.S. trade deficit fell to an 11-month low in November as declining crude oil prices curbed the import bill, eclipsing a drop in exports that could be related to a labor dispute at one of the nation’s key ports.
• U.S. private employers added 241,000 jobs in December, beating the median forecasts of analysts, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 226,000 jobs.
• Canada’s November merchandise trade deficit widened as exports fell the most since January 2012 on falling crude oil prices. The deficit of $644 million followed an October reading that was revised to a $327 million deficit from a $99 million surplus, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a $200 million November shortfall.
• Investors will scan the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Dec. 16-17 meeting at 2:00 p.m. for clues on the timing of an interest rate hike. The central bank said it would take a “patient” approach in deciding when to bump borrowing costs higher at the meeting.
• In other economic developments, the eurozone is seeing a fall in consumer prices. a development that’s likely to reinforce expectations that the European Central Bank will soon provide an aggressive monetary stimulus. A fall in prices is a concern for policymakers if it is sustained over a period of time, a situation often referred to as a deflationary spiral. That can choke the life out of an economy if consumers put off purchases in the hope of future bargains.

In corporate news:

• Air Canada says it’s evaluating the viability of flying from the Billy Bishop airport. located on one of Toronto’s lakeshore islands.
• J.C. Penney shares surged 18.6 per cent to $7.78 in premarket trade after the department store operator said same-store sales rose 3.7 per cent in November and December.
• Micron Technology shed 3.3 per cent to $31.80 before the opening bell after the memory chipmaker gave a quarterly revenue forecast on Tuesday that missed Wall Street’s expectations.

© Thomson Reuters 2015