Futures linked to Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, after the index declined on Thursday over concerns about credit stress at U.S. regional lenders.
The TSX fell into the red by the close, 178.32 points Thursday to 30,458.80.
December futures skidded 0.9% Friday.
Still, the TSX appeared positioned to register modest weekly gains, buoyed by its commodity-heavy composition and a record rally in gold prices. The materials sector has led the charge with an 8.6% increase this week.
The Canadian dollar nosed ahead 0.04 cents to 71.23 cents U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday brushed off calls to retaliate against the U.S. over its tariffs on some Canadian exports, saying the two countries were deep in talks over key sectors.
In corporate news, U.S.-listed shares of Bitfarms tumbled 16.3% in premarket trading after pricing $500 million in convertible senior notes due 2031.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada said foreign investors acquired $25.9 billion of Canadian securities in August, led by purchases of debt instruments. Meanwhile, Canadian investors added $19.5 billion of foreign securities to their portfolio, led by investment in shares
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange settled 20.25 points Thursday to 1,007.36.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded early Friday as traders tried to move past credit concerns that sparked a big sell-off in regional banks Thursday.
Futures for the 30-stock index grabbed 80 points, or 0.2%, to 46,240.
Futures for the S&P 500 faded 5.25 points, or 0.1%, to 6,663.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ slumped 67.25 points, or 0.3%, to 24,764.
Stocks that led Thursday’s bank selloff were rallying back in pre-market trading, boosting futures, as Wall Street defended the shares and traders bet any bad credit bets were one-offs and not part of a bigger crisis. Zions and Western Alliance disclosed bad loans over the last 48 hours, which sparked a big selloff in the stocks that eventually dragged down the whole market Thursday. Zion lost 13%, while Western Alliance tanked by 11% Thursday.
But Zions Bancorp climbed more than 4% in early trading Friday after receiving an upgrade from Baird, which said the drop in market value for the regional bank was out of proportion considering the size of loan losses it was potentially facing.
Investment bank Jefferies, caught in the storm for its exposure to bankrupt auto parts retailer First Brands, was last up nearly 5% after Oppenheimer raised its rating to outperform. Jefferies was down 11% Thursday.
Better-than-expected earnings Friday from Fifth Third Bancorp also assuaged worries, sending the stock higher by 2% in early trading. The bank’s profit jumped last quarter even after posting a jump in credit losses tied to exposure to bankrupt subprime auto lender Tricolor.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ditched 1.4% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 2.5%%.
Oil prices let go of four cents to $57.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $4.80 to $4,309.40 U.S. per ounce.
