Canadian stock futures pointed to a lower open on Friday, as disappointing earnings reports from U.S. technology bellwethers Google and Microsoft sent jitters across the globe.
The S&P/TSX composite added 4.87 points to end Thursday’s session at 12,466.12, with futures off 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.41 cents Friday morning to 101.09 cents U.S.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission blocked BCE Inc's $3-billion takeover of Astral Media on Thursday, declaring the deal would give too much power to BCE, already the country's biggest telecoms company and owner of numerous TV and radio assets.
Harry Winston Diamond Corp. said on Thursday it had received various indications of interest regarding a potential purchase of its luxury brand business, but said it is not in active negotiations regarding any such transaction.
Sun Life Financial said it is committed to Britain, it said Friday after the Financial Times reported it had shelved plans to sell its British division.
On the economic scroll, inflation advanced at the same rate in September as it did in August. Figures released this morning by Statistics Canada revealed that consumer prices rose 1.2% in the 12 months to September, powered mostly by hikes in prices for gasoline and electricity.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.34 points to 1,312.34
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were lower Friday as investors digest more corporate earnings and await a reading on the housing market.
The National Association of Realtors will release its figures on existing home sales for September later this morning Sales are expected to come in at an annual rate of 4.70 million, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, down from 4.82 million in August.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sagged 42 points, or 0.3%, to 13,445, about 30 minutes before the opening bell. Futures for the S&P 500 fell three points, or 0.2%, to 1,448.50, and for the Nasdaq, futures ducked back 4.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,728.25.
Within the corporate world, General Electric reported quarterly earnings Friday morning that fell short of expectations, sending shares more than 1% lower in pre-market trading. Honeywell posted third-quarter profit that topped forecasts, but revenue disappointed. Shares slipped 1%.
McDonald's logged revenue that was roughly in line with expectations, but its quarterly profit came in lower than anticipated.
Overseas, European Union leaders in Brussels agreed late Thursday to establish a euro-zone-wide banking supervisor in 2013 designed to help prevent future catastrophic bank failures that could threaten the monetary union.
European stocks were lower Friday morning. Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.2%, the DAX in Germany fell 0.5% and France's CAC 40 lost 0.6%.
Meanwhile, Asian markets closed mixed. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.2%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.2%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.2%.
Oil for November delivery gained 15 cents to $92.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $10 to $1,734.70 U.S. an ounce.
