Canada's main stock index futures ventured skyward on Friday, tracking stronger bullion prices, while investors awaited trade data for further cues about economic recovery.
The TSX Composite index faltered 60.13 points to finish Wednesday at 20,110.89. The exchange closed the first half of calendar 2021, up more than 2,700 points or 15.67%.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.02 cents to 80.62 cents U.S.
September futures towered 1.3% Friday over Wednesday’s close.
Thursday, markets in Canada were closed in honour of Canada Day.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said, following four consecutive months of reaching new highs, the total value of building permits dropped a record $1.6 billion (-14.8%) to $9.5 billion in May.
The agency adds, every component was down, with multi-family dwellings in Ontario accounting for nearly three fifths of the overall national decline.
Also, Canada’s monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $303 million in April to $384 million in May.
In May, Canada's merchandise imports increased 2.1%, while exports fell 1.6%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade balance widened, moving from a surplus of $462 million in April to a deficit of $1.4 billion in May.
Later this morning (about 9:30 a.m. EDT), Markit Canada comes out with its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 13.9 points to 960.69, for a jump on the first six months of more than 85 points, or 9.75%.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes were flat on Friday as Wall Street awaited the key June jobs report and another glimpse at the recovering U.S. labour market.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials picked up 18 points, or 0.1%, to 34,532.
Futures for the S&P 500 gathered four points, or 0.1%, to 4,314.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index hiked 30.25 points, or 0.2%, to 14,578.75.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% during Thursday’s regular session and notched its sixth-straight record close, finishing above 4,300 for the first time at 4,319.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 131 points to close at 34,633.53, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite ticked up about 0.1% to 14,522.38.
For the week, the NASDAQ was up 1.1% as of Thursday’s close. The S&P 500 gained 0.9%, and the Dow was up about 0.6%.
U.S. investors await the Labor Department’s all-important monthly jobs report that on Friday will show how many payrolls American employers added last month.
Economists expect non-farm payrolls grew by 706,000 jobs in June and that the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Dow Jones. If employers added as many jobs as expected, the print would top the 559,000 jobs created in May.
Average hourly wages are estimated to have jumped 0.3% on a month-over-month basis, and climbed 3.6% over the last 12 months. The government’s weekly report on first-time jobless claims, published Thursday morning, came in at 364,000 and set a pandemic-era low.
American markets will be closed Monday for the Fourth of July.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 took on 0.3% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slumbered 1.8%.
Oil prices docked 16 cents to $75.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices powered higher $10.00 to $1,786.80 U.S. a pound
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