Everything You Need to Know on Tuesday: Statistics Canada to Release February GDP Report Today

Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:

● S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,320.30, down 0.05%.

● Statistics Canada to release February GDP report, Q1 growth estimate today

● As TMX enables record oil output, First Nations hope for new chapter

● U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions down 3% in 2023, EIA reports

● Stocks to watch: Cameco

Today, the Canadian dollar is trading at 73.24 cents US, a slight increase from Monday.

The S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures (SXF) are currently trading at 1,320.30, which is up 0.05% from the previous close.

Statistics Canada is set to release its February gross domestic product report today, along with a preliminary estimate for economic growth during the first three months of the year.

RBC says it expects the economy grew by a modest 0.1 per cent in February, lower than the consensus expectation of 0.3 per cent.

Canada has so far averted a recession that many economists feared would happen after the Bank of Canada began its aggressive rate-hiking cycle.

Strong population growth has helped bolster the economy, even as high interest rates slow consumer demand and business investment.

The Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of one per cent in the fourth quarter, but shrank on a per capita basis.

The Bank of Canada will have an eye on today's economic growth figures as it tries to gauge when it may be appropriate to begin lowering interest rates.

Some Indigenous communities in northern Alberta hope the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will mark the start of a new chapter in their relationship with Canada's oilsands industry.

The $34 billion pipeline project from Alberta to the B.C. coast promises improved access to export markets for oilsands producers, which are forecast to achieve all-time-high output this year.

The pipeline's expected opening on May 1 is a big deal for the Fort McKay First Nation, located about an hour's drive north of Fort McMurray and home to around 800 people of Dene, Cree and Métis descent.

"It matters to the Fort McKay First Nation. When there's an opportunity like the Trans Mountain pipeline, the question is, how can we actually leverage it to transfer that opportunity to Fort McKay?" said Chief Raymond Powder in an interview.

"Because I've shared that with my industry partners across the table from time to time — I've said, 'You know, if you guys want to grow and want to expand and all that, that's not an issue for us.'"

But Fort McKay also needs opportunities for growth as the industry expands, he said.

U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined 3% last year to about 134 million metric tons (MMmt), the US Energy Information Administration reported on Monday.

Over 80% of the emissions cuts were in the electric power sector due to lower coal-fired electricity generation, the EIA said. This was displaced by higher generation from solar and natural gas. Emissions from the power sector fell to roughly 1,425 MMmt in 2023, down 7% from 2022.

Emissions also dropped in the residential and commercial sectors by a combined 6% amid milder weather, which lowered energy demand for space heating and cooling in buildings, the EIA noted.

Emissions from the industrial and transportation sectors remained relatively unchanged, with differences of less than 1%.

The company reported a first-quarter net loss of $7 million, or $0.02 per share, swinging from a year-ago profit of $119 million, or $0.27 per share. The result missed the S&P Capital IQ normalized EPS estimate of $0.34.

Revenue dropped 8% to $634 million while adjusted EBITDA increased 16% to $303 million.

Cameco said its results were driven by normal quarterly variations in contract deliveries in its uranium and fuel services segments, as well as the addition of Westinghouse.

"Financial results are in line with the 2024 outlook we provided, which has not changed, and are as expected, reflecting normal quarterly variability and the required purchase accounting and other non-operational acquisition-related costs for Westinghouse," Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel said.

Cameco reiterated its full-year 2024 revenue guidance of $2.9 billion to $3.0 billion.

The company's shares dropped nearly 7% to US$46.01 at last look in US pre-market trading.

Source: BNN Bloomberg, Financial Post, MT Newswire