Stock futures pointed to a lower start for Canada's main stock index on Monday as weak data from Asia and a cut in Italy's credit rating to just a notch above junk raised concerns over global economic growth.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 4.63 points to finish Friday at 14,474.58, with Monday futures down 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar was up a mere 0.01 cents to 87.43 cents U.S.
The slide in oil prices will probably cut Canadian economic growth by a third of a percentage point in 2015, not the quarter point the Bank of Canada estimated in late October, bank Governor Stephen Poloz told the media on Friday.
National Bank Financial cut the price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $73.00 from $78.00
CIBC cut the price target on National Bank of Canada to $55.00 from $56.00
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that The total value of building permits was $7.5 billion in October, edging up 0.7% from September. The increase came mainly from higher construction intentions in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Moreover, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning that the national rate of housing starts increased to 195,620 units last month on a seasonally adjusted basis from 183,659 in October.
CMHC said British Columbia led the country in growth in housing starts, followed by Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. However, there was a decline in urban starts in the Prairie region.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 5.39 points to 701.99
ON WALLSTREET
Early signs are that investors may have to wait a while longer for record values, given a few reminders Monday about shaky global growth.
Before the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones docked 59 points, or 0.3%, to 17,894, while futures for the S&P 500 settled 7.25, or 0.4%, to 2,068.75, and futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index slipped 13.75 points, or 0.3%, to 4,299.50.
Markets will be watching Monday to see if the Dow can hit a new record at 18,000 points. The index came within 10 points of the milestone during Friday's session.
The world's third largest economy is in a deeper hole than expected. A second reading of third quarter GDP showed the economy shrank at a faster rate than previously thought, down 1.9% on an annual basis. An initial estimate put the contraction at 1.6%.
Voters go to the polls Sunday in parliamentary elections called early by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the hope that he'll secure a stronger mandate for his economic revival plan.
Japan's Nikkei was flat in a mixed session for Asian markets.
The downward revision to Japan's GDP data, combined with weak trade figures from China and a disappointing reading of German industrial production in October weighed on European markets in morning trade.
Oil prices dipped $1.26 to $64.58 U.S.
Gold prices gained $4.20 at $1,194.60 U.S.
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