Futures for Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, ahead of a deadline for the North American Free Trade Agreement, as fresh threats from U.S. President Donald Trump on a trade war with Beijing dulled investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 18.74 points to conclude Thursday at 16,371.55
The Canadian dollar faded 0.32 cents to 76.7 cents U.S. early Friday
September futures were down 0.2% Friday
Canada and the U.S. will make a final push to iron out differences on a pact to modernize NAFTA on Friday, with Mexico on standby to return to talks, aimed at ending a year of hard-fought negotiations.
CIBC raised the target price on BRP Inc. to $79.00 from $69.00
CIBC cut the target price on Hudbay Minerals to $10.00 from $12.00
Morgan Stanley raised the target on Rogers Communications to $69.00 from $65.00
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index declined 0.2% in July, led by lower prices for primary non ferrous metal products.
In the same month, the raw materials price index rose 0.7%, primarily due to higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 6.55 points Thursday to 720.40
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures came under pressure ahead of Friday's open, as investors remained cautious as a NAFTA deadline drew closer.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost 56 points, or 0.2%, to 25,954
S&P 500 futures dipped five points, or 0.2%, to 2,897, while futures for the NASDAQ composite faded 6.25 points, or 0.1%, to 7,642.75
Trade-sensitive stocks such as Boeing and Caterpillar hit their session lows Thursday following the report. Shares of Boeing dumped 0.9% and Caterpillar fell 2% in the prior session.
On the data front, the latest Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) figures are due out at 9:45 a.m. ET Friday, followed by consumer sentiment at 10 a.m. ET.
Friday marks the deadline for a new trade deal to be secured by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. While the States and Mexico announced a bilateral trade deal on Monday, Canada has yet to secure its place.
Representatives from the Canadian and U.S. governments worked deep into the night Thursday to devise an alternative to the trade agreement, though Canada's trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, was quoted in the media saying they are still working to "get the right deal, not any deal."
Trade concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment this week following a report that the Trump administration remains committed to imposing tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as soon as next week.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 picked up about four points while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index thundered lower 1%.
Oil prices dipped 12 cents to $70.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.40 to $1,210.40 U.S. an ounce.
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