Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of more tariffs on China, fanning fears of a trade war between the two countries.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 191.68 points, or 1.3%, to conclude Thursday at 15,356.05
The Canadian dollar fell 0.1 cents to 78.19 cents U.S. early Friday
June futures slumped 0.4% Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the United States, Mexico and Canada are "moving forward in a significant way" at talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement
Japan's SoftBank Group Corp will buy up to 9.9% stake in Canada-based Nemaska Lithium Inc and invest up to $99.1 million through a private placement as part of the agreement, the lithium miner said.
BMO cut the price target on Corus Entertainment Inc to $7.50 from $9.00
BMO started coverage on Roots Corp. with outperform rating with a price target of $14.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 32,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate stayed put at 5.8%
Later on this morning (10 a.m. ET), Western University’s IVEY School of Business releases its Purchasing Managers’ Index for March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 6.78 points Thursday to 770.56
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures fell deep into the red ahead of Friday's open, as concerns over a potential trade war between two major nations resurfaced.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 244 points, or 1%, to 23,224
S&P 500 futures sank 23.25 points, or 0.9%, to 2,638.50, while futures for the NASDAQ composite index jettisoned 67 points, or 1%, to 6,533.25
The moves in pre-market trade came as investors around the world continue to fret over the trade situation between the U.S. and China.
After China announced fresh tariffs on 106 U.S. products Wednesday, President Donald Trump went on to threaten more levies, stating that he has asked the United States Trade Representative to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China.
Shares of large-cap tech companies fell before the bell amid fears they could be hurt by a trade war between the U.S. and China. Shares of Apple dropped 1.5%, while Facebook ditched 1.4%, and Alphabet fell 1.5%. Amazon also dropped 1.7%
Boeing, another company that could be adversely affected by a trade war with China, fell 2.5% in the pre-market.
Aside from trade tensions, non-farm payrolls data will be keeping investors busy on the last trading day of the week. At 8:30 a.m. ET, the employment situation was due out which is expected to show economic figures on wage growth, unemployment and the state of the job situation in the U.S.
Investors will be poring over the data to see if the figures provide any indications as to how the U.S. is performing and what this means for the U.S. Federal Reserve when it comes to the future path of raising interest rates.
Looking to the corporate space, technology stocks will remain at the forefront. While market-watchers will be keeping an eye on what President Donald Trump says about Amazon, the main point of interest for investors is likely to be Facebook.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 removed 0.4%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.1%.
Oil prices slid 53 cents to $63.01 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices dropped $2.20 to $1,326.30 U.S. an ounce.
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