Futures for Canada's main stock index inched lower on Friday as bullion prices weakened, while investors were jittery ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the day.
The S&P/TSX lost 228.54 points, or 1.1%, to wrap up Thursday at 20,563.89
June futures were down 0.3% Friday.
National Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Airboss of America with an outperform rating and a $38 price target.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on D2L Inc to $15.00 from $20.00
CIBC cut the target price on Saputo to $35.00 from $36.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the economy grew by 40,000 jobs in May, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.1%.
The number of Canadians who own cryptoassets is growing rapidly and efforts to regulate the sector need to start keeping pace, a senior Bank of Canada official said, noting many people may not understand the risk of investing in products like bitcoin.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 12.31 points, or 1.7%, to 711.88.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were muted Friday morning ahead of a highly anticipated inflation report.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials settled 45 points, or 0.1%, early Friday to 32,191.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped three points to 4,014.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index gained 17.25 points, or 0.2%, to 12,322.
For the week so far, the Dow is lower by 1.9%, on track for its 10th down week in the past 11. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are both off by more than 2%, on track for their ninth losing week in 10.
Before the opening bell on Friday, investors will get a look at the May consumer price index report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting year over year increases of 8.3% for the main index and 5.9% for the core index, which excludes food and energy prices.
If the report matches expectations, or shows slower gains, then Wall Street could take it as a sign that inflation may have peaked and that the Federal Reserve may need to be less aggressive later in the year.
Later on Friday, a preliminary consumer sentiment reading for June is due out after the stock market opens.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stumbled 1.5% Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 0.3%
Oil prices hiked 84 cents to $122.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $17.20 to $1,835.60 U.S. an ounce.
