Futures in Toronto inched upwards on Friday, tracking strength in commodity prices ahead of a key inflation reading from the United States.
The TSX Composite stumbled 221.44 points, or 1.1%, to end a disastrous Thursday at 19,349.66.
Futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% Friday morning.
The Canadian dollar forged ahead 0.16 cents to 73.49 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks to look out for, Canada awarded CAE Inc. and Britain's Leonardo U.K. Ltd of Yeovil two contracts valued at up to $1.24 billion to support the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter fleet, which contributes to search and rescue operations
CIBC cut AutoCanada to "neutral" from "outperformer".
Canadian markets will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday next week, owing to Christmas and Boxing Day observances.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said this country’s GDP edged up 0.1% in October as growth in services-producing industries was partially offset by declines in goods-producing industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange pointed downward 3.5 points Thursday to 567.26.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were little changed Friday as traders try to recover some of the ground lost in the previous session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 102 points, or 0.3%, early Friday to 33,310.
Futures for the S&P 500 captured 12 points, or 0.3%, to 3,801.24.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite gained 49 points, or 0.4%, to 11,103.25.
Friday’s moves followed another down session for markets as December’s selloff resumed and hopes for a Santa Claus rally faded. The Dow on Thursday tumbled 348.99 points, or 1.05%, but finished well off its 803-point low. The S&P 500 faded 1.5% and the NASDAQ dove 2.2%.
Those losses put the S&P 500 down 0.8% for the week, on pace for its third-straight weekly decline. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has lost 2.1% this week. The Dow has been the outperformer this week, gaining 0.3%.
Recession fears have resurged recently dashing some investors’ hope for a year-end rally and leading to big losses in December. Investors worry that overtightening from central banks worldwide could force the economy into a downturn.
For December, the S&P 500 has lost more than 6%, while the Dow gave back 4.5% and NASDAQ has lost 8.7%. It would be the biggest monthly declines for the major averages since September. Stocks are also on pace for their worst annual performance since 2008
Investors await more economic data due out Friday, including November’s personal consumption expenditure report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation — and personal income. New home sales and December consumer sentiment index are also slated for release.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dumped 1% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index shed 0.4%.
Oil prices gained $1.86 to $79.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $10.40 to $1,805.70 U.S. an ounce.
