Canada stock futures rose on Friday, as risk appetite improved following progress in U.S.-China trade talks, pushing crude prices to three-month highs.
The TSX Composite Index finished but 7.29 points ahead of the breakeven point Thursday at 16,946.90
The Canadian dollar fell 0.04 cents U.S. to 75.98 cents early Friday
December futures gathered 0.1% Friday.
Washington has set its terms for a trade deal with Beijing, offering to suspend some tariffs on goods and cut others in exchange for Chinese purchases of more American farm goods.
As well, Mexico's Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the revised U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal that includes tougher enforcement of worker rights and the elimination of a patent provision for biologic drugs.
The scrapping of a second Canadian IPO in as many months this week caps a year of declining activity, highlighting the challenges facing issuers as trade uncertainty and the growth of passive investing weigh on new offerings.
CIBC cut the target price on Empire Company to $34.00 from $39.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.2 points Thursday to 536.52
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures quickly pared gains on Friday morning as investors digested news that the world’s two largest economies neared the signing of a so-called phase one trade deal in principle.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 48 points, or 0.2%, Friday to 28,178.
Futures for the S&P 500 poked up 2.5 points, or 0.1%, at 3,173.50.
The NASDAQ Composite hiked 12.25 points, or 0.1%, to 8,503.75. All three touched record highs on Thursday.
Wall Street was headed for solid weekly gains in anticipation of a deal ahead of the Sunday tariff deadline. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were both up 0.7% for the week while the Dow had gained 0.4% through Thursday.
Stocks have been on a massive tear this year despite the lingering trade fears. Through Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 is up 26.4% for 2019. The Dow has jumped 20.6% and NASDAQ is up 31.4% this year.
On the data front, retail sales for November and import prices for November will all be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Business inventories for October will follow slightly later in the session.
The U.S. agreed to a so-called phase one trade deal with China in principle, according to some media reports. As part of the deal, the U.S. would scrap additional levies set to take effect on Sunday. The U.S. also proposed cutting tariffs on $360 billion in Chinese goods by up to 50%.
One of the sources also said that President Donald Trump was focused on how much in U.S. agricultural products China would purchase.
Bloomberg News and Dow Jones later reported that Trump had signed off on the deal, but investors were awaiting confirmation of the trade deal from China.
Futures also moved after the U.K.’s Conservative party won a big majority in Parliament, giving Prime Minister Boris Johnson a clear path to move forward with his Brexit plans.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 leaped 2.6% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index also jumped 2.6%.
Oil prices acquired 53 cents at $59.71 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $4.70 to $1,477 U.S. an ounce.
