Futures for Canada's main stock index dropped on Friday, as oil prices tumbled on lockdown risks in Europe as coronavirus cases surged and the possibility of major economies releasing crude reserves to cool energy prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell 15.48 points to close Thursday at 21,637.54.
Futures gave up 0.4% Friday
The Canadian dollar slid 0.34 cents to 79 cents U.S.
RBC raised the target price on George Weston Ltd. to $162.00 from $154.00
Acumen Capital cuts the rating on Goodfood Market to hold from buy
Scotiabank raised the rating on Imperial Oil to outperform from sector perform
Scotiabank raised the target price on Metro Inc. to $73.00 from $70.00
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported retail sales were down 0.6% to $56.6 billion in September. The decline was led by lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (-1.6%) as new car dealer sales (-2.8%) continued to struggle amid global supply shortages for semiconductor chips.
The agency’s new housing price index increased 0.9% in October nationally, slightly higher than the rise observed over the past four months
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returns to Ottawa on Friday after failing to convince President Joe Biden to scrap proposed electric-vehicle tax credits that would favour U.S.-based manufacturers, but said he would keep seeking a solution.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 24.18 points, or 2.4%, Thursday to 981.48
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were mixed early Friday as concerns over a resurgence of COVID-19 weighed on global markets, though tech shares pushed higher.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 251 points, or 0.7%, to 35,560.
Futures for the S&P 500 subtracted 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,688.
Futures for the NASDAQ surged 77.5 points, or 0.5%, to 16,558.75.
Markets were roiled after Austria announced on Friday morning that it would re-enter a full national lockdown due to a resurgence of COVID-19. Germany on Thursday announced more restrictions for unvaccinated people as a fourth wave sent daily cases to a record high.
The market rally appeared to have slowed down a bit near record levels even amid strong corporate earnings. Macy’s and Kohl’s both blew past analyst estimates in their quarterly earnings reports on Thursday.
Intuit shares roared nearly 10% higher pre-market after the tech platform’s earnings blew past estimates and the company raised full-year revenue guidance. NVIDIA continued its strong run, with shares rising 1.8% on continued momentum from its earnings beat earlier this week.
On the downside, big energy companies were mostly lower as oil prices continued their recent slump, with West Texas Intermediate falling about 2.5%. Occidental Petroleum led the declines, falling 3% in pre-market trading Friday.
So far this week, the blue-chip Dow is down 0.6%, on pace for its second negative week in a row. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are headed for modest gains, the S&P up 0.5% and NASDAQ better by 0.8% this week. The S&P 500 is on track for it sixth positive week in seven, sitting 0.3% below its all-time high.
More than 90% of the S&P 500 companies have handed in their financial results for the third quarter, and over 80% of them reported earnings better than Street’s expectations. S&P 500 companies are on track to grow profit by 41.5% year over year.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 picked up 0.5% Friday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong skidded 1.1%.
Oil prices faded $2.51 to $76.50.
Gold prices gained 60 cents to $1,862.00 U.S. an ounce.
