Canada's main stock index futures edged higher on Friday, as invested took on gross domestic product data, gaining support from higher gold prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell just short of breakeven by 4.49 points to close Thursday at 16,307.73
The Canadian dollar eked ahead 0.04 cents to 76.37 cents U.S. early Friday
September futures gained 0.2% Friday.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Almaden Minerals to sector perform from outperform
RBC raised rating on Atco Ltd. to sector perform from underperform
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Detour Gold to sector perform from outperform
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada reported that real gross domestic product was up 0.3% in April, following a 0.5% increase in March.
Goods-producing industries rose 0.4%, while services producing industries increased 0.2%. The 20 industrial sectors were nearly evenly split between gains and losses.
In May, the agency said its Industrial Product Price Index edged up 0.1% in May.
Higher prices for energy and petroleum products and for motorized and recreational vehicles were largely offset by lower prices for primary non-ferrous metal products.
The Raw Materials Price Index was down 2.3%, mainly due to lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was unchanged from Wednesday’s finish to end Thursday at 580.05
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were higher Friday as bank shares got a boost after the release of the Federal Reserve’s stress test results while investors looked ahead to a key meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 73 points, or 0.3%, to 26,619.
Futures for the S&P 500 nicked up 6.25 points, or 0.2%, at 2,937.25.
NASDAQ futures added 5.5 points, or 0.1%, to 7,696
J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all rose more than 1.5% in the premarket. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America gained more than 2% each.
Their gains come after they passed the Fed’s annual stress test and got approval to boost dividends and share repurchase programs. Goldman hiked its quarterly dividend by nearly 50% while J.P. Morgan raised its dividend by 10 cents.
Procter & Gamble also gave futures a jolt, rising 1.4% after an analyst at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The analyst said Procter “has been a clear benefactor of the recent acceleration in end-market growth, and we expect the market to continue to grow in the 3%-plus range in the future.”
But Wall Street’s gains were kept in check as traders awaited the Trump-Xi trade meeting scheduled for Saturday.
Friday’s session marks the end of a stellar month for stocks. The major indexes were all up more than 6% through Thursday’s close. The Dow was on pace for its biggest June gain since 1938. The S&P 500 was set to post its best June performance since 1955.
On the data front, there will be personal income figures, consumer spending and a core personal consumption expenditures price index released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 backed on 0.2% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also fell off 0.3%
Oil prices gained 14 cents to $59.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $4.90 to $1,416.90 U.S. an ounce.
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