The release of February jobs data in the United States and Canada before markets open will likely set Friday's trading tone on the Toronto stock exchange.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 5.44 points to close Thursday at 12,826.52
The Canadian dollar lifted a third of a cent to 97.49 U.S. Friday.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that employment rose by 51,000 in February, following a slight decline the previous month. This increase was spread between full- and part-time work. The unemployment rate remained at 7.0% as more people participated in the labour force.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Friday in a report that showed the housing market is continuing to moderate. CMHC said the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 180,719 units in February, up from 158,998 in January. The January figure was revised down from the 160,577 units reported previously.
The number of starts in February was slightly above the 175,000 starts expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.49 points Thursday to 1,116.23
ON WALLSTREET
An unexpectedly robust jobs report Friday could push Wall Street into yet another record-setting gain.
Futures for the Dow Industrials leaped 83 points, or 0.6%, to 14,339. Futures for the S&P 500 grew 8.1 points, or 0.5%, to 1,545.80, and futures for the NASDAQ picked up 11.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,806.75.
Online music streaming firm Pandora Media reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and announced that its CEO will be stepping down. Pandora's shares soared in premarket trading.
Athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker reported a significant increase in sales and profit for the fourth quarter.
Citigroup's shares gained nearly 2%, following news that the bank passed the Fed's stress test to gauge if it could weather another recession.
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs Group also passed the tests.
The U.S. government reported that 236,000 jobs were added to the economy in February, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%. That was much better than the 170,000 expected by economists
European markets were strong in midday trading on expectations of encouraging U.S. jobs data, while Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% and the Hang Seng added 1.4%.
Japan's Nikkei increased 2.6% after the yen extended losses and revised data showed the country's economy has pulled out of a shallow recession.
Oil prices dropped 49 cents to $91.07 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices added $1.70 an ounce to $1,576.80 U.S.
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