Canada's main stock index futures fell on Friday, as oil weakened on concerns of a slowdown in fuel demand recovery due to a resurgence in coronavirus cases, denting investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 77.49 points on Thursday to 16,579.10.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.14 cents Friday to 74.94 cents U.S.
September futures faded 0.1% Friday.
Sun Life Financial beat analyst estimates for second-quarter core earnings on Thursday, helped by lower claims on some health plans, particularly in the United States, and the positive impact of investing activity.
Magna International on Friday reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and forecast full-year sales above estimates, as auto sales in North America showed signs of a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Bank of Canada raised the rating on Crew Energy to sector perform from underperform.
CIBC raised the rating on First Capital REIT to outperform from neutral.
Canaccord Genuity raises rating on Quebecor to buy from hold.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada revealed the economy got 419,000 jobs back in July, rising 2.4%, compared with the 953,000-job, or 5.8%, rise in June. Combined with gains of 290,000 in May, this brought employment to within 1.3 million (or 7.0%) of its pre-COVID February level.
Later on this morning (about 10 a.m. EDT), the IVEY School of Business at Western University releases its Purchasing Managers Index for July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 4.97 points to close Thursday at 742.11
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to major U.S. equity averages fell on Friday after an executive order from President Donald Trump raised tensions further with China. Investors were also eyeing virus stimulus talks in Washington and a big jobs report due Friday.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials dropped 122 points, or 0.5%, early Friday, to 27,163.
Futures for the S&P 500 subsided 13.5 points, or 0.4%, at 3,330.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ sank 42.75 points, or 0.4%, to 11,218.50.
Stateside, the U.S. Labor Department reported that jobs increased by 1.763 million in July, dwarfing the expected 1.48 million.
The overnight moves came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued executive orders to address "the threat posed" by Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat. As part of the order, any transaction with ByteDance and Tencent, the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat, respectively, will be barred in 45 days.
It comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate over several issues including the origins of the coronavirus and democracy in Hong Kong.
Talks between negotiators ended Thursday evening without a breakthrough in sight as discussions edged closer to the Trump administration’s Friday deadline for striking an agreement. White House officials criticized Democrats as uncompromising while Democrats argued that the GOP failed to appreciate the severity of the recession.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.6%.
Oil prices fell 51 cents to $41.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $4.50 to $2,063.90.
