Canadian stock index futures were down as investors digested somewhat lukewarm jobs data
The S&P/TSX Composite moved negative 55.32 points to close Thursday at 15,027.53
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.07 cents to 75.15 U.S. early Friday.
National Bank of Canada posted a better-than-expected adjusted profit for the fourth quarter, benefiting from growth in its retail and wealth management businesses. The company’s overall net income fell 11.5% to $307 million, or 78 cents per share, hurt by certain onetime charges.
Barclays raised the target price on Blackpearl Resources to $2.00 from $1.50, saying the company appears well-positioned to develop the next phase of its thermal project, providing visibility to growth in 2019.
CIBC started coverage on Ivanhoe Mines with an outperform rating, considering the Kamoa-Kakula project as a globally significant highgrade copper deposit that still has significant scope for value creation.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank to $66.00 from $63.00, citing the company’s U.S. retail growth in the fourth quarter, which capped a strong year.
In economic news, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 11,000 jobs in November. But, with fewer people searching for work, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.8%.
Experts were looking for a drop of 20,000 jobs last month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.57 points Thursday to 739.54
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as traders eyed the release of key employment data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials faded 15 points, or 0.1%, to 19,182. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped three points, or 0.1%, to 2,189. NASDAQ futures slid 12.5 points, or 0.3%, to 4,724
On the earnings front in the U.S., Big Lots reported quarterly results before the bell.
Employment defied the experts in November and added 178,000 new jobs. The U.S. Labor Department also said the boost helped lower the unemployment rate to 4.6%.
Experts had the U.S. economy adding 175,000 in November with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.9%.
European markets were noticeably lower early Friday afternoon. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite in China closed 0.9% lower on Friday, while the Nikkei in Japan closed 0.5% lower.
Oil prices dipped 55 cents to $50.51 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices regained $4.20 at $1,173.60 U.S. an ounce.
