Canada's main stock index futures pointed to a higher open Friday.
The S&P/TSX Composite hurtled lower 73.38 points to end Thursday at 15,418.16
The Canadian dollar poked up 0.13 cents to 76.17 U.S. early Friday
AltaGas Ltd said on Thursday it was in talks with a third party over a potential transaction. AltaGas did not name the company, but the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said the firm was is in talks to merge with WGL Holdings Inc, the parent of natural-gas utility Washington Gas.
NBF raised the rating on Hudbay Minerals to outperform from sector perform, citing the inclusion of elevated valuation multiples in light of an improving commodity price outlook.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Sun Life Financial to buy from hold, to reflect the company’s solid balance sheet, good growth potential in high valuation segments and generally stable financial results and risk profile.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lurched lower 0.79 points Thursday to 789.64
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Friday as traders digested some big earnings reports and economic data.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials eked up 17 points, or 0.1%, at 19,820. Futures for the S&P 500 added 1.75 points, or 0.1%, to 2,265.25. NASDAQ futures gained seven points, or 0.1%, at 5,041.75
Bank of America and BlackRock both reported mixed quarterly results, as earnings per share topped analyst expectations but sales fell short. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are also scheduled to report later on Friday.
On the data front, retail sales and producer price index are due this morning, with consumer sentiment and business inventories set to come out a short time later.
In Europe, markets were higher on Friday, while Asian stocks were decidedly mixed, though bourses in Tokyo and Hong Kong were substantially higher.
Oil prices faded 35 cents to $52.66 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices moved up 70 cents to $1,200.50 U.S. an ounce.
