Futures for Canada's main stock index inched higher on Friday as the country's two main telecoms firms made headway with their merger deal, but sentiment was expected to be downbeat on worries over "soft landing" challenges for the economy.
The TSX gained 105.94 points to finish Thursday at 19,991.88.
September futures for the TSX inched up 0.1% on Friday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.13 cents to 78.22 cents U.S.
Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications finalized an agreement to sell Freedom Mobile to cVideotron, a unit of Quebecor in a $2.85-billion deal.
The sale could help Rogers and Shaw clear a key anti-trust hurdle and pave the way for their $20-billion merger.
ECN Capital met quarterly earnings expectations of nine cents per share and topped estimates on revenue.
Hydro One said a barge moving a crane hit three high-voltage transmission lines causing power outage for a few hours in downtown Toronto on Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange forged ahead 3.3 points Thursday to 673.02.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose on Friday with the S&P 500 headed for its fourth positive week in a row on the hope that inflation is peaking.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials spiked 137 points, or 0.4%, early Friday to 33,441.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 20.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,229.25
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite jumped 73 points, or 0.6% at 13,384.25.
The S&P 500 is up 1.5% on the week, helped most by a rally earlier in the week after a lighter-than-expected consumer prices report. This will be the S&P 500's longest weekly winning streak since November 2021.
A report later in the week on wholesale prices further validated the speculation that the inflation trend could be turning lower, which could lead the Federal Reserve to eventually slow down its aggressive tightening campaign.
The Dow is up 1.6% for the week, while the NASDAQ Composite is 1% higher. For the NASDAQ, it is also the fourth positive week in a row.
Shares of Rivian seesawed in overnight trading after the electric vehicle maker beat top- and bottom-line estimates but trimmed its full-year guidance. Poshmark, Olo and Illumina shares traded lower after posting earnings results.
On the economic front, import prices and consumer sentiment data are due out Friday.
In Asia, markets in Japan returned from holiday, with the Nikkei 225 index leaping 2.6%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index took on 0.5%,
Oil prices dipped $1.52 to $92.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell 80 cents to $1,806.40 U.S. an ounce.
