Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip stock index edged higher on Friday as investors assessed Middle East tensions and awaited the June jobs report for insights on the economy and the Bank of Canada's monetary policy path.
The TSX gained 264.65 points to close Thursday at 35,200.45.
Futures climbed 0.2% early Friday.
The Canadian dollar was stable at 70.59 cents U.S.
In company news, industrial valve maker Velan posted an adjusted net loss in the first quarter as lower volumes and higher provisions hit profitability.
On the trade front, Prime Minister Mark Carney told a televised business forum that Saudi Arabia could help Canadian mining firms develop. He also met Amin Nasser, head of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, for talks deepening cooperation.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%.
The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
In May, the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased $215.0 million (-1.7%) to reach $12.4 billion.
The decline in construction intentions was due to the non-residential sector (-6.1%) and tempered by the residential sector (+1.2%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange restored 11.76 points, or 1.3%, Thursday, to 898.34.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Friday after a strong Wall Street session that put the index, as well as the NASDAQ Composite, on track for weekly gains.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 46 points, or 0.1%, to 52,807.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 6.75 points, or 0.1%, to 7,582
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite flopped 111 points to 29,826.
The S&P 500 is pacing for a 0.8% advance on the week, while the NASDAQ Composite is tracking to finish the period with a gain of 1.5%. The Dow, on the other hand, was lower by 0.8%.
Chip stocks were weak ahead of the U.S. debut of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix on the Nasdaq Friday.
The company, which exploded higher this year on the massive demand for memory, is pricing its American depository receipts at $149 each. Some traders worry the new offering may compete for investor funds with U.S. memory stocks like Micron Technology.
Micron, Marvell Technology and Lam Research all shed around 1% in premarket trading, while Intel fell 2%. Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD were also among those trading in negative territory.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 sprang up 1.2% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng picked up 0.6%.
Oil prices increased 38 cents to $72.46 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $33.50 to $4,107.30 U.S an ounce.
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