Toronto's main stock index looked set to open higher on Friday, after 85% of Greece's private creditors accepted its bond swap offer, but investors were also expected to take their cue from U.S. jobs data.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.07 cents to 101.04 cents U.S.
Canada unexpectedly failed to create any new jobs in February, continuing a trend of stalled employment despite healthy economic growth rates and contrasting with renewed strength in the United States.
Stocks to watch this morning include casino operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp., which posted a fourth-quarter profit in the absence of any big charge like last year, but sales at the company fell marginally on flat revenue at some of its main businesses.
Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp. said its quarterly profit rose more than 50% as the company benefited from its customers drilling more complex, deeper and longer horizontal wells in unconventional fields.
Statistics Canada said employment was unchanged in February. A decline in the number of people searching for work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.4%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment was up by 121,000, or 0.7%, with the bulk of the increase occurring in the first half of the period.
The Dow Jones industrial average futures vaulted 90 points, or 0.7%, to 12,860, while those for the S&P 500 gained 3.4 points, or 0.3%, to 1,364. Nasdaq futures were higher by 4.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,637.50 ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
The jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.3%. That's down from January, when employers added 243,000 jobs.
A survey of 19 economists had predicted that the economy added 210,000 jobs in February, with an 8.3% unemployment rate.
In Greece, creditors agreed to a plan to restructure Greek bonds, government officials said Friday. More than 85% of private bondholders agreed to the deal, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos said in a statement.
The agreement on private-sector involvement, as it is known, is the final hurdle Greece must clear to meet all the conditions of its second €130-billion bailout program from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
European finance officials could approve the final portion of Greece's bailout as early as Friday -- staving off, for now, the prospect of a disorderly default.
European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped by 0.1%, while the DAX in Germany edged higher by 0.2% and France's CAC 40 increased by 0.1%
Inflation in China slowed dramatically in February, as temporary price hikes related to Lunar New Year faded.
Consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year ago, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported Friday -- a steep slowdown from a 4.5% inflation rate in January.
Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite added 0.8%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.9% and Japan's Nikkei increased 1.7%.
Oil for April delivery rose 34 cents to $106.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $1.30 to $1,700 U.S. an ounce.
