Futures for stocks in Canada’s largest market fell on Friday, tracking weakness in commodities, while analysts awaited data on domestic producer prices for January for further cues on business recovery.
The S&P/TSX Composite stumbled 260.99 points, or 1.4%, to close Thursday at 18,223.54.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.28 cents at 79.01 cents U.S.
March futures stepped back 0.2% Friday.
CIBC raised the rating on Boralex to outperform from neutral.
JP Morgan cut the rating on GFL Environmental to neutral from overweight.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on WSP Global to buy from hold
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported its raw material price index was up 5.7% last month, driven primarily by higher prices for crude energy products, while its industrial product price index rose 2.0% in January, mainly as a result of higher prices for lumber and other wood products, as well as energy and petroleum products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 28.15 points, or 2.7%, Thursday to 1,032.28
ON WALLSTREET
Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock fluctuated on Friday as popping interest rates alarmed equity investors and pushed the NASDAQ Composite to its worst session since October a day earlier.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial index withered 130 points, or 0.4%, to 31,241.
Futures for the S&P 500 lost five points, or 0.1%, at 3,823.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite poked up 10 points, or 0.1%, to 12,841.75.
Popular big-tech stocks like Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla, all of which began the year on strong footing, dropped sharply on Thursday. Apple, one of the largest, cash-heavy companies in the world, has seen its stock slide more than 15% over the last month.
Tesla was down another 3% in pre-market trading Friday. Apple and Facebook were also lower in early trading.
Instead of tech, where companies tend to borrow more on average, investors are shifting money into so-called reopening trades, buying the stock of companies that would benefit most from the vaccine rollout and a return to regular travel and dining trends.
Energy has gained 6.8% this week alone, the biggest winner by far amid expectations that consumers around the world will soon be driving and flying as they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Industrials and financials are the only two other sectors in the green week to date.
The S&P 500 is down 2% so far this week, while the NASDAQ has lost 5%. The Dow Industrials is own 0.3%.
Thursday, the S&P 500 lost 2.5% to clinch its worst day since Jan. 27 while the tech-heavy NASDAQ shed 3.5% and suffered its biggest one-day selloff since Oct. 28.
The momentum that carried stocks to all-time highs earlier this month has met resistance amid a sudden and pronounced rise in bond yields. The rate on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note briefly soared as high as 1.6% on Thursday before simmering back down to around 1.52%, its highest level since February 2020.
The 10-year yield, last seen around 1.48%, is up more than 50 basis points since the year began, a rapid rise for a bond rate used as a benchmark for mortgage rates and auto loans
Overseas, in Asia, stocks were punished. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gave back 4%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 3.6%.
Oil prices dipped $1.34 to $62.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices decreased $14.20 to $1,761.20 U.S.
