Toronto's main stock index looked set to open lower on Friday, mirroring its U.S. counterpart, following the release of unexpectedly soft U.S. retail sales data.
The S&P/TSX index slumped 53.54 points to end Thursday at 12,481.37
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.24 cents to 98.74 cents U.S. early Friday.
Dollarama Inc reported a 21% rise in quarterly profit as it sold more items priced above C$1.00 and it raised its dividend by 27%.
Coal miner Walter Energy Inc, which is locked in a proxy fight with an activist hedge fund, said on Thursday that its first-quarter performance had improved from that of the fourth quarter of 2012.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said it will buy Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management from money manager Invesco Ltd for $210 million to bulk up its U.S. money management business.
Oil firm Suncor Energy Inc has drilled a dry well in the U.K. sector of the North Sea.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange found its way into positive territory, but by only 0.80 points, to 1,048.54.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors head into Friday morning focused on quarterly results from two of the world's largest banks, with the Dow and S&P 500 coming off new record highs.
Futures for the Dow Industrials shed 58 points, or 0.4%, to 14,738. Futures for the S&P 500 doffed 7.2 points, or 0.5%, to 1,580.5, and futures for the NASDAQ lost 14.75 points, or 0.5%, to 2,838.50
JPMorgan reported first-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates on revenue and earnings, but its stock dipped about 1% in pre-market trading.
Wells Fargo is also scheduled to release results before the opening bell. The latest quarter is expected to have been a tough one for banks, which have been struggling to make profits with interest rates hovering near record lows.
J.C. Penney shares slumped 2% in pre-market trading following reports that it hired Blackstone to help the retailer raise $1 billion U.S.
In corporate news, NASDAQ executives will be getting their bonuses cut this year, and the bungled Facebook IPO is to blame.
On the economic front, meanwhile, reports were due from the government this morning on retail sales and producer prices. Retail sales are forecast to be flat for March, according to Briefing.com's consensus of economists. The Producer Price Index is expected to have slipped 0.1% in March, according to Briefing.com.
European markets were lower in morning trading, as concerns about the mounting cost of the Cyprus bailout ended a four-day winning streak. E.U. finance ministers will meet in Dublin later Friday to discuss Cyprus and the status of rescue programs in Portugal and Ireland.
Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite declined 0.6%, the Nikkei lost 0.5% and the Hang Seng dropped 0.1%.
Oil prices slid $1.55 to $91.96 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices plummeted $30.40 to $1,534.80 U.S.
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