Resource stocks were expected to pressure the Toronto stock market Friday as commodity prices retreated amid a weaker than expected reading on Chinese economic growth.
In corporate news, Air Canada is warning that airport disruptions could disrupt flights across the country all day and into the weekend. The alert comes as various media reports say a small group of pilots may stage a ”sick-in” to express their displeasure with airline management.
Thomas Cook Canada Inc. is making an early exit from its five-year agreement with Jazz Aviation due to market conditions. The Halifax-based company says it will cease flying planes for Thomas Cook at the end of April, three years early.
ON BAYSTREET
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 187.89 points, or 1.6%, to end Thursday at 12,214.65
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 37.38 points to 1,472.50, while the Nasdaq Canada index strengthened 9.79 points to 409.01
The commodity-sensitive Canadian dollar was slightly higher despite the weak data, up 0.12 of a cent to 100.67 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. index futures were down with less than half an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will fall at the start of trading.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 70 points, or 0.5%, to 12,880. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 8.2 points or 0.6% to 1,377.70, while the Nasdaq futures declined 11.25 points, or 0.4%, to 2,727.50
Despite the strong start to the reporting season, China's economic growth is weighing on sentiment. The country's gross domestic product expanded by 8.1% in the first quarter, its slowest pace in three years and missing expectations.
What's more, growth was far below the so-called "whisper" number that some observers had been batting around on Thursday, which saw growth coming in as high as 9%
After the numbers were released, China's premier warned that the country continues to face a threat of inflation, which suggests that China might be less willing to resort to stimulus to boost its economy.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, but Germany's DAX index fell 0.4% in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% in overnight trading.
Commodities were weak: Crude oil fell to $103.38 U.S. a barrel, down 0.3%. Gold fell to $1,676 U.S. an ounce, down 0.3%
