Futures for Canada's main stock index traded lower on Friday, as oil prices dropped on concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index strengthened 77.03 points to close Thursday at 16,244.59
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.19 cents to 74.61 cents U.S. early Friday
June futures plummeted 0.5% Friday.
Paulson & Co says it will not support Newmont Mining Corp's planned $10 billion takeover of rival Goldcorp Inc as the premium offered is unjustified.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Aritzia Inc. to $23 from $21
CIBC raised the price target on Boyd Group Income Fund to $161.00 from $132.00
Desjardins raises price target on Mosaic Capital to $5.25 from $5.00
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported retail sales faded for the third consecutive month, declining 0.3% to $50.1 billion in January. Lower sales – lower by 1.5% -- at motor vehicle and parts dealers contributed to the majority of the decline. Excluding sales in this sub-sector, retail sales increased 0.1%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in February, up from a 1.4% increase in January. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.3% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 3.24 points Thursday to 641.21
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures fell Friday amid jitters sparked by the Federal Reserve's cautious outlook for the world's largest economy.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jettisoned 162 points, or 0.6%, at 25,849
Futures for the S&P 500 gave back 15.75 points, or 0.6%, at 2,846.75
NASDAQ futures slid 36 points, or 0.5%, to 7,498.50
Nike shares also pressured stock futures. The athletic apparel company's stock dropped 4.2% on the back of weak quarterly sales growth in North America.
Meanwhile, Tiffany is expected to publish its latest quarterly results shortly before the opening bell.
On the data front, manufacturing and services Purchasing Managers Index data for March is due at around 9:45 a.m. ET. Wholesale trade figures for January and existing home sales for February will be released shortly afterwards, with the latest monthly federal budget data due at 2 p.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 poked up 0.1%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index also forged up 0.1%
Oil prices sank 76 cents to $59.22 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sprinted $4.40 to $1,311.70 U.S. an ounce.
