North American stock markets headed for a flat open as traders digested the release of employment data for Canada and the U.S. Friday morning.
The S&P/TSX composite gained 76.85 points to conclude Thursday at 12,499.76.
The Canadian dollar nipped up 0.04 cents to 100.38 cents U.S. Friday
Hudson’s Bay Co. says preliminary results suggest its third quarter revenues were up 3.8% from the same time last year to $930.4 million but its margins were squeezed by shortages and seasonal clearance markdowns. The information was contained in a revised prospectus filed as part of HBC’s plans to return to the public stock market.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Canada's job market stalled in October after two months of strong hiring
The economy added 1,800 jobs in the month, even lower than the negligible forecast rise of 5,000 jobs in economists’ polls, while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.4%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 6.81 points to 1,321.29
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures turned higher Friday morning after the government reported the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in October.
The Dow Jones Industrials futures gained 32 points, or 0.2%, to 13,197, while S&P 500 futures took on 5.6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,428.80, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq inched up three points, or 0.1%, to 2,687.75.
Futures had been flat ahead of the monthly jobs report, which showed the economy added 171,000 jobs last month. Economists expected 125,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in September, in line with expectations.
After the start of trade on Friday, the Census Bureau will release data on September factory orders. Chevron and Alcatel-Lucent will have announced their quarterly results before the open.
Shares of Starbucks rose 7.8% in pre-market trading Friday, one day after the coffee shop operator reported strong same-store sales growth and increased its dividend.
LinkedIn stock soared 8.3% in pre-market trading after the social media company topped Wall Street's expectations.
Shares of Priceline surged more than 10% after the online travel site beat earnings forecasts. The good news spilled over to other online travel sites, with shares of TripAdvisor moving higher.
Overseas, European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. Britain's FTSE 100 fell by 0.2%, the DAX in Germany added 0.1%, and France's CAC 40 was close to flat.
Asian markets closed higher. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 1.3%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6%.
In the U.S. , September factory orders are expected to have increased by 4.5%, according to a survey of analysts.
Oil for December delivery fell 0.5% to $86.62 a barrel, narrowing losses from earlier in the morning.
Gold futures for December delivery fell sharply after the jobs report, falling 1.2% to $1,695.10 an ounce.
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