Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index in the wake of the country’s employment data.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 103.04 points to close Thursday at 13,558.78
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.22 cents to 75.72 cents U.S. early Friday
TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as the strong U.S. dollar helped drive up revenue. It said revenue rose 3.3% to $175.9 million. Excluding items, the company earned 85 cents per share for the third quarter. Analysts had expected profit of 84 cents per share on revenue of $173.4 million.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said he was not shutting the door on the idea of government aid for Bombardier, which has run up big debts. Trudeau said he would wait for a recommendation from Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who has responsibility for the file. Bombardier's struggles with its CSeries jet project have left the company saddled with debt and looking at a range of options to raise cash.
Brookfield Asset Management shelved a $6.5-billion buyout agreement with Australian port and rail giant Asciano and said it will launch a formal takeover offer instead, threatening a rival proposal and raising the antitrust regulator's role in deciding the outcome.
First Quantum Minerals has retained Jefferies to explore a sale of its two nickel mines as the Canadian base metal miner looks to trim debt levels and double down on its bets in copper, three sources familiar with the matter said. The sources said the move to sell the assets would help the company achieve its goal of reducing its debt levels by over $1 billion.
BMO cut the target price on Enbridge Inc. to $63.00 from $66.00 following the company’s lower-than-expected third-quarter results.
Barclays raised the price target on Great-West Lifeco Inc to $37.00 from $35.00 as the company managed to come in ahead of consensus expectations as a result of improved profitability in all of its main geographic regions.
RBC cut the target price on Telus Corp to $47.00 from $48.00 on slightly lower wireless expectations, offset by additional cost savings
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 44,000 jobs in October, bringing the number of people employed in Canada to over 18 million for the first time. The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage points to 7.0%.
The agency also stated that building permits in September totaled $7.1 billion in September, down 6.7% from the previous month. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions for residential buildings and commercial structures in Ontario largely explained the decline.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 2.58 points Thursday to 539.58
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are looking a bit weak following Friday’s release of October’s job numbers.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones faded 45 points, or 0.3%, to 17,757, futures for the S&P 500 dipped five points, or 0.2%, to 2,089, and futures for the NASDAQ fell 6.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,689.
Shares in miner BHP Billiton are declining by about 5% pre-market after a dam at one of its Brazilian mines broke and flooded a nearby village. Many fatalities have been reported, but the company said "we still don't know the full extent of the situation."
Menswear firm Jos. A. Bank reported poor sales and a bleak profit outlook on Thursday, which has caused shares in parent company Men's Wearhouse to plunge by roughly 30% in extended trading.
Shares in TripAdvisor are falling around 10% pre-market as investors react to disappointing earnings.
Shares in Monster Beverage are rising by about 8% pre-market as investors cheer better-than-expected quarterly results.
Humana and Cigna are due to report results before the open.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is reporting after the close.
The addition of 271,000 jobs exceeded all estimates in a survey of economists and followed a revised 137,000 gain in September, a U.S. Labor Department report showed Friday.
The unemployment rate, as expected, fell to 5%, a modest improvement from September's 5.1% level.
Oil prices gained 20 cents to $45.40 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid $10.88 to $1,093.04 U.S. an ounce.
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