Stock futures pointed to a flat opening for markets in Canada’s largest market on Friday as investors awaited a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for a clearer picture on U.S. rate hikes.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 4.48 points to greet the closing bell Thursday at 14,630.72. September futures were down but 0.05% Friday.
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.25 cents to 77.63 cents U.S. early Friday.
Kinross Gold said it has suspended operations at its Maricunga gold mine in Chile, and will lay off 300 employees after a judicial decision upheld a regulator's move to shut down the water system linked to the mine.
National Bank Financial raised the target on CIBC to $98.00 from $95.00, with an underperform rating
Canaccord Genuity raised the target on Polaris Infrastructure to $18.50 from $12
National Bank Financial raised the target on Toronto-Dominion Bank to $61.00 from $60.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange zoomed 12.34 points, or 1.6%, to end Thursday at 801.86
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are steady ahead of the open and global markets are not making any major moves.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 16.6 points, or 0.1%, to 18,432, while futures for the S&P 500 slipped 1.5 points, or 0.1%, at 2,172. NASDAQ futures were off 5.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,776.75.
Shares in ITT Educational Services could be on the move again Friday after dropping by 35% Thursday.
Investors pressed the sell button after the U.S. Department of Education announced it was banning the for-profit institution from enrolling new students using federal financial aid.
St. Jude Medical will be under intense scrutiny after hedge fund Muddy Waters claimed the medical device maker was selling devices that were vulnerable to hackers. Muddy Waters said it was shorting the St. Jude stock, which means it profits when shares fall.
Shares in the firm dropped 5% on Thursday. But St. Jude Medical rejected claims that the company's pacemakers and other lifesaving devices are vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Janet Yellen, the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, will take the microphone at a major central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Investors are wondering: Will the Federal Reserve chief signal an interest rate rise is coming in the months ahead?
Yellen is speaking just 90 minutes after a new report on second-quarter GDP comes out.
It's widely expected that the U.S. economy grew by 1.1% compared to the same period last year. This would dash hopes for a more robust rebound from a slowdown at the start of the year.
Oil prices subsided four cents to $47.29 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices vaulted $6.10 to $1,330.70 U.S. an ounce.
