Toronto's main stock index looked set to edge higher on Friday, taking cues from U.S. and Europe and from commodity prices.
The Canadian dollar nudged ahead 0.10 to 100.93 cents U.S.
Canadian stocks to watch this morning include BCE Inc., which said it has agreed to acquire Astral Media in a deal that values the television and radio program broadcaster at about $3.38 billion, including the assumption of debt.
Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. said its fourth-quarter loss more than doubled and the company, which in January signaled a possible sale of itself, forecast lower 2012 production.
U.S. stock index futures were higher with about 15 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 35 points or 0.3%. While that's suggests a small rise, it puts the blue-chip index on track for its eighth consecutive gain.
Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 3.2 points or 0.2% to 1,399.20. The large-cap index broke above the 1,400-point threshold on Thursday for the first time since mid-2008, adding to a lengthy list of milestones for U.S. indexes.
Futures for the Nasdaq were 7.75 points higher, or 0.3%, to 2,719.50
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX index were up 0.4% each in afternoon trading.
The euro-zone's exports rose 11% in January over last year, driven largely by Germany, dwarfing imports and reducing the region's trade deficit substantially. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose less than 0.1% in overnight trading.
In North America, investors will be looking at February's consumer price index for the United States, as well as figures on industrial production. The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for March will be released soon after trading begins, with economists expecting a slight gain to a reading of 76, up from 75.3.
Apple Inc. will likely remain in the spotlight as its latest iPad model goes on sale. The shares moved a penny above $600 U.S. on Thursday, but then retreated more than 2% from the intraday high. In premarket trading, the shares were up 0.7%, to $589.46 U.S.
Commodities were mixed. Crude oil rose to $105.28 U.S. a barrel, up 0.2%. Gold fell to $1,647 U.S. an ounce, down 0.7%.
