Canada's main stock index futures fell on Friday, as oil prices plunged after Reuters reported that Russia would reject OPEC's call for steeper output cuts to support prices.
The TSX Composite Index dumped 225.54 points, or 1.3%, to finish Thursday at 16,553.99
The Canadian dollar sank 0.16 cents early Friday to 74.50 cents U.S.
March futures moved downward 1.9% early Friday.
Barrick Gold on Friday said it was increasing its inventory of key commodities to above normal levels because of the global spread of coronavirus, though placed and forecast orders were unchanged and supplies to mines were not affected.
Canada's three top telecoms companies - Bell, a subsidiary of BCE Inc, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp - must lower prices of their mid-range wireless service plans by 25% within two years, or face regulatory action to increase competition, the federal government said on Thursday.
RBC cut the target price on Crescent Point Energy to $6.50 from $7.50
RBC cut the target price on Martinrea International to $20.00 from $22.00
RBC cut the rating on Spin Master to sector perform from outperform
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that employment was little changed in February, the economy having created 30,000 jobs and the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.6%.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that Canada's merchandise exports fell 2.0% in January, while imports were down 0.5%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $732 million in December 2019 to $1.5 billion in January.
At 10 a.m., the IVEY Purchasing Managers Index rolls in for February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deducted 4.47 points Thursday to 521.27.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures pointed to further declines Friday morning as Wall Street nears the end of a turbulent trading week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dumped 739 points, or 2.8%, early Friday to 25,321.
Futures for the S&P 500 faded 90.25 points, or 3%, at 2,925.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite tumbled 288.25 points, on 3.3%, to 8,360.50.
Global Partners LP is among a small clutch of companies declaring earnings today.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added 273,000 new jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate was 3.5% The U.S. economy was expected to have added 175,000 jobs in February, down from 225,000 in January.
The expanding health crisis kept investors on edge as global cases of the coronavirus infections surged to more than 98,704 with at least 3,383 deaths around the world as of Friday.
In the U.S., at least 12 people have died of the disease. California has declared a state of emergency, while the number of infections in New York reached 22.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 retreated 2.7% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index capsized 2.3%.
Oil prices slouched $2.32 to $43.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $19.50 to $1,687.50 U.S. an ounce.
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