Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:
● S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,337.30, up 0.04%
● Suncor seeks to secure a 'distinct' edge through the Trans Mountain pipeline
●Manulife financial edges up after hours as first-quarter core earnings rise 16% on business growth and high fee income
● Air Canada ranks near bottom on customer satisfaction: survey
● RioCan REIT reports profits up as retail demand holding up well
Market Snapshot
Today, the Canadian dollar is trading at72.70cents US, a slight decrease from Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures (SXF) are currently trading at 1,337.30, which is up 0.04% from the previous close.
Stocks to watch
Suncor seeks to secure a 'distinct' edge through the Trans Mountain pipeline
$Suncor Energy Inc (SU.CA)$intends to leverage its trading system to bypass intermediaries and engage directly with new clients, aiming to create a "distinctive" benefit as it begins exporting to more areas via the recently active expansion of Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline. The company, headquartered in Alberta and boasting a record $1.6 billion in net earnings along with unprecedented oilsands output in the first quarter, noted that the commencement of Trans Mountain Corp's upgraded pipeline on May 1 would boost profits from oil production. However, this financial gain could be somewhat mitigated by rising costs at its refineries.
"What might make us a bit unique is we are not reliant on third-party trading shops," Dave Oldreive, Suncor's executive vice-president of downstream, said. "This allows us to capture the full value of the transaction by transacting directly with customers."
Air Canada ranks near bottom on customer satisfaction: survey
According to a recent study,$Air Canada (AC.CA)$falls short in customer satisfaction compared to many of its major counterparts in North America, with ticket prices being a specific area of discontent.
J.D. Power, a consumer analytics agency, discovered that Canada's leading airline scored lowest in the rankings for both its business class and premium economy categories.
When it comes to economy class, Air Canada managed to rank higher than only two airlines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines, securing the ninth position among 11 competitors.
Meanwhile, WestJet showed moderately better performance, placing in the median range with a fifth-place finish in premium economy out of seven and seventh in the economy category out of eleven airlines.
"With Air Canada, people were not as happy with the value for price paid," said Michael Taylor, who heads J.D. Power's travel division. That's one of six factors rated by passengers, alongside other factors including digital tools, airline staff and onboard experience.
RioCan REIT reports profits up as retail demand holding up well
The CEO of$Riocan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN.CA)$has remarked that, in spite of the deceleration in Canada's economic growth, the retail leasing sector remains buoyant with rents on an upward trajectory.
Jonathan Gitlin, the CEO, commented on the robust state of the retail market during an interview on Wednesday, highlighting the substantial demand at play.
This strong consumer interest has contributed to RioCan's increase in profits, which rose to $128.6 million for the quarter ending March 31, an improvement from the $118.0 million reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
According to Gitlin, the market's resilience is owed to the continuous interest from essential service retailers such as supermarkets and discount stores. Additionally, the scarcity of new retail construction over the last ten years has played a role in sustaining the market.
Gitlin noted the lack of significant new retail developments, stating that there has been virtually no increase in new retail space and that this trend is likely to persist due to the high costs associated with construction.
Manulife financial edges up after hours as first-quarter core earnings rise 16% on business growth and high fee income
$Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.CA)$edged up in after-hours New York trading after the company on Wednesday said its first quarter profit rose 16%, beating expectations.
The life insurer reported core earnings rose 16% to $1.75 billion, or $0.94 per core share, from $1.53 billion, or $0.73 per core share, last year. The results topped the consensus analyst estimate for core earnings of $0.91 per share, according to Capital IQ.
The increase reflects strong business growth across the insurance businesses and higher fee income in global wealth and asset management (WAM) benefitting from favorable market impacts and positive net flows. Core earnings increased 39% in Asia and 25% in Global WAM compared with Q1 2023. Updates to actuarial methods and assumptions in the second half of 2023 also contributed to core earnings growth, the company said.
Source: BNN Bloomberg, Financial Post
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