Markets in Toronto are focusing on getting back into the green, after moderate losses on Thursday.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped back 64.10 points to close Thursday at 15,388.77
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 82.01 cents U.S. early Friday.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the consumer price index gained 0.4% for March, after a 0.2% hike in February.
Retail trade rose 1.7% in February to $42.2 billion, as gains were widespread as all 11 retail sub-sectors reported higher sales.
Moreover, the agency said, foreign investment in Canadian securities strengthened to $9.3 billion in February, mostly foreign purchases of federal government bonds.
Meanwhile, investors here resumed their investment in foreign securities by adding $9.4 billion to their holdings, mainly U.S. instruments.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved slightly in the green Thursday, 0.34 points, to 705.59
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were down in early trading on Friday.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 95 points, or 0.5%, to 17,946. Futures for the S&P 500 slid 10.25 points, or 0.5%, to 2,090.50, and futures for the NASDAQ faded 28.75 points, or 0.7%, to 4,386.50.
Mattel was up 6% pre-market following its latest quarterly earnings. Although revenue fell from a year ago and the company posted a loss, sales topped forecasts and the loss wasn't as big as expected.
Shares of Schlumberger also rose in extended trading after the oil services company said it was laying off another 11,000 workers. The stock was edging up 2% pre-market.
Netflix climbed 1% pre-market after showing strong subscriber growth earlier this week. Worth over $500 U.S. a share, Netflix is the best performer by far in the S&P 500 this year, with analysts expecting further growth.
General Electric and Honeywell are reporting ahead of the open.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was to report on the CPI at 8:30 a.m. ET.
European markets were down in morning trading. Germany's Dax lost 1.9% and the FTSE 100 was down 0.8%.
Asian markets ended the week mixed. China's Shanghai Composite climbed 2.2%, while the Nikkei ended the session 1.17% down.
Oil prices fell 46 cents to $56.25 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices surged $8.80 to $1,206.80 U.S. an ounce.
