Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday as oil prices slumped after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to refrain from cutting output despite a supply glut.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 115.97 points to close Thursday at 14,922.14, with December futures trailing 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.48 cents to 87.78 cents U.S. early Friday.
Germany has approved BlackBerry's planned acquisition of Secusmart, the encryption technology of which is used to protect the mobile devices of top politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel.
TD Securities cut the price target Alderon Iron to $2.00 from $3.00, with a speculative buy rating
Canaccord cut the price target on Great Prairie Energy to $0.50 from $0.60, with a buy rating.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that Gross Domestic Product rose 0.7% in the third quarter, following a 0.9% gain in the second quarter. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry increased 0.4% in September.
The agency’s Industrial Product Price Index decreased 0.5% in October, mainly because of lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
StatsCan’s Raw Materials Price Index slid 4.3% in October, largely as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
Moreover, Canada's current account deficit in the third quarter unexpectedly narrowed to $8.4 billion, its best performance in six years, Statistics Canada data indicated on Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 15.66 points to close Thursday at 755.40.
ON WALLSTREET
Energy shares and Black Friday are taking much of the markets’ attention, the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lopped off three points to 17,807. Futures for the S&P 500 also settled three points, or 0.1%, to 2,069.25, but futures for the NASDAQ gained eight points, or 0.2%, to 4,325.75.
Shares in oil companies are set to take a big fall Friday as U.S. stock markets reopen from their Thanksgiving closure.
Shares in Transocean are plunging by about 8% pre-market. Other major energy firms including Exxon Mobil and Chevron were also declining by about 4%.
U.S. crude oil prices fell by roughly 7% over the previous trading session after OPEC opted to keep oil production levels unchanged at 30 million barrels per day. Many had been hoping for a cut in production, which would have boosted prices.
The price of oil has fallen by roughly 35% since hitting a recent peak in June.
Lower oil prices benefit travel companies that need to fuel their planes and cruise ships. So it's no surprise that shares in airline stocks and cruise operators are jumping during pre-market trading.
Shares in Delta Airlines are rising by 8%, Southwest Airlines is gaining 6% and Carnival is up by 1.5%
U.S. markets are operating for an abbreviated session, closing at 1 p.m. ET.
European markets are all moving lower in early trading, but the shift down isn't too dramatic.
New euro-zone data shows the region continues to struggle with dangerously low inflation and high unemployment. Inflation dipped to 0.3% in November, down from 0.4% in the previous month. Unemployment stayed steady at 11.5%.
Many Asian stock markets posted gains Friday, but the benchmark Australian index took a 1.6% dip.
Oil prices continued their swoon, dropping $4.66 to $69.03 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices plummeted $13.30 to $1,183.30U.S. an ounce.
