Canada's resource-heavy main stock index opened higher, supported by a rebound in oil and gold prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index revived 53.62 points to begin Friday trading at 11,461.94, after Thursday’s 350-point-plus loss.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.21 to 97.37 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway said it signed a multi-year deal with U.S. Silica Holdings Inc to transport drilling sand from the U.S. company's mine in Sparta, Wisconsin.
Other stocks to watch this morning included Theratechnologies Inc., who said its European partner Ferrer Internacional SA is withdrawing the marketing application for tesamorelin, a drug to reduce excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients, after a health committee raised safety concerns.
Fibrek Inc. said a Quebec court granted it an order to hold a shareholders' meeting for voting on the company's proposed takeover by Resolute Forest Products Inc.
Indian energy major Reliance Industries and its partners BP and Niko Resources plan to spend $4 billion to develop satellite gas fields off India's east coast, the Economic Times reported, citing company officials and government sources.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada says annual inflation tumbled to 1.2% last month, the lowest the consumer price index reading in almost two years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped another three points to 1,214.35. The Nasdaq Canada index eked up a gain of 1.21 points to 363.80
All 14 Toronto subgroups were up to begin the session, led by global base metals and their cousins in the metals and mining sector, each up 1%, while health-care stocks were 0.9% haler.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks bounced back at Friday's open, a day after fears of slow global growth and bank downgrades sent stocks spiraling downward.
The Dow Jones Industrials 67.67 points to begin Friday at 12,641.24, after being walloped 250 points Thursday.
The S&P 500 recovered 6.02 points, at 1,331.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index regained 16.65 points to 2,875.64
Investors may be feeling a little relief to get Moody's bank downgrades out of the way but worries about Europe's debt crisis persist.
The downgrades included five major U.S. banks -- Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Shares of Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan gained between 1% and 2%. Morgan Stanley rose more than 2% as after its rating was cut by two, rather than the feared three, notches.
Shares of transportation company Ryder Systems slid nearly 12% after company lowered its earnings outlook for the second quarter and fiscal year 2012, citing declining demand for its commercial rental vehicles.
Shares of Darden Restaurants fell after the operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden warned than earnings and revenue in the current fiscal year will fall short of estimates.
Cruise line operator Carnival reported earnings that topped estimates and issued an upbeat outlook for the year.
Meanwhile, worries about Spain persist after an independent audit, released Thursday, found that Spanish banks need up to €62 billion to restore stability to the country's financial sector.
And Germany, the healthiest and largest euro-zone economy, may start to draw some attention. The German Ifo business confidence index fell to its lowest level in more than two years -- worse than expected.
The news comes one day after a purchasing managers index showed conditions deteriorating for the second month, with output declining at the fastest rate in three years.
There are no economic reports due out of the U.S. today.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 1.66% from Thursday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil nipped 27 cents to $78.47 U.S.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $3.00 to $1,568.50 U.S. an ounce.
