Futures for Canada's main stock index were slightly lower on Friday ahead of the closely watched jobs numbers due later in the morning on both sides of the border
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 65.38 points to close Thursday at 16,006.67
The Canadian dollar edged down 0.01 cents to 77.38 cents U.S. early Friday
December futures were down 0.03% Friday
Precision Drilling Corp said it would buy smaller rival Trinidad Drilling Ltd in a deal valued at $1.03 billion, trumping a hostile bid from Ensign Energy Services.
Shares in Intu Properties soared after a consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management said it was considering a bid for the shopping centre owner.
CIBC cut the target price on Cardinal Energy to $6.75 from $7.00
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Source Energy Services to $6.00 from $8.00
CIBC cut the target price on Winpak to $54.00 from $55.00
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 63,000 jobs in September, driven by an increase in part-time employment. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%.
Elsewhere, the agency said its Canada's merchandise trade balance with the world was in a surplus position for the first time since December 2016. The $526-million surplus followed a $189-million deficit in July. Imports fell 2.5% and exports were down 1.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange drooped 4.22 points Thursday to 703.03
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday as investors digested the latest U.S. jobs data release.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost 18 points, or 0.1%, to 26,634
S&P 500 futures slid 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 2,905, while futures for the NASDAQ composite skidded 20 points, or 0.3%, to 7,494.25
The U.S. government’s September jobs report revealed that the economy created only 134,000 jobs during the month. Economists polled by Refinitiv expected the U.S. economy to have added 185,000 jobs last month.
Elsewhere in data, the International Trade in Goods and Services figures were also due at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by consumer credit at 3 p.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.8% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 0.2%
Oil prices gained 28 cents to $74.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shot higher $5.40 to $1,207.00 U.S. an ounce.
