Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Canada's main stock index on Friday after the Bank of Japan surprised financial markets by significantly expanding its massive stimulus program.
The S&P/TSX composite index stayed negative 68.88 points to end Thursday at 14,458.69
The Canadian dollar fell 0.08 cents to 89.31 cents U.S. early Friday.
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, the largest shareholder in the Syncrude Canada Ltd joint venture, said on Thursday its quarterly profit fell by nearly two-thirds on foreign-exchange losses, lower commodity prices and higher expenses.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd reported a bigger-than-expected drop in third-quarter earnings on Thursday partly due to lower copper and nickel production.
Raymond James raised the rating on Canfor Pulp Products to strong buy from outperform.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled $26.76 billion in family tax cuts and benefits over six years on Thursday, which will start flowing to voters over the coming year as the country gears up for an election next October.
The BoJ's board voted five to four to accelerate purchases of Japanese government bonds, increasing its holdings at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($723.4 billion U.S.), while tripling its purchases of exchange-traded funds and real-estate investment trusts.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that August’s gross domestic product declined 0.1% in August, following no growth in July and increases in the first six months of the year.
The agency blames oil and gas extraction and manufacturing for much of the August decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 9.42 points Thursday to 771.65
ON WALLSTREET
Traders were expecting a lot of treats early Friday morning, determined to bring a volatile October to a prosperous close.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials leaped 193 points, or 1.1%, to 17,307. Futures for the S&P 500 hiked 22.25 points, or 1.1%, to 2,010.75, and futures for the NASDAQ jumped 60.75 points, or 1.5%, to 4,150.25.
Shares in Starbucks are taking a tumble -- down by about 3% pre-market -- after the company said it expects profits will fall short of expectations during the next three months.
Shares in GoPro are surging by about 15% after the company reported a better-than-expected third quarter and issued an upbeat forecast for its business.
Meanwhile, Citigroup shares are off by about 1.5% pre-market after the company said it had to revise its third quarter earnings. The bank said profit was $600 million U.S. lower than previously stated due to higher-than-expected legal costs.
There are plenty of earnings to watch Friday. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Chevron, Clorox, and Exxon Mobil, will report earnings before the opening bell.
Overnight, Sony reported a second quarter net loss of $1.2 billion U.S., and the company confirmed it's on track to lose a staggering $2.1 billion U.S. this fiscal year. Shares edged higher, but missed the rally that other Japanese stocks enjoyed.
On the economic front, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will post monthly personal income and spending numbers this morning.
The University of Michigan will report the final version of its monthly consumer sentiment index later on this morning.
Internationally, the Bank of Japan has shocked global markets by boosting its aggressive stimulus program in an effort to keep the country's economic revival on track.
Japan's Nikkei index surged by nearly 5% to hit a seven-year high and stock markets around the world are rallying.
Asian markets closed with significant gains and European markets have jumped by at least 1% in early trading.
Oil prices tumbled 77 cents to $80.35 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $24.60 to $1,174 U.S. an ounce.
