The Toronto stock market looked to start the trading week little changed, with traders unconvinced Republicans and Democrats can reach a compromise to avoid the U.S. falling over the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the retail sector was in focus in the wake of major deal making over the weekend.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was ahead 62.52 points to close Thursday at 12,202.85
The Canadian dollar was down 0.1 cents to 100.63 cents U.S. Friday morning
Leon's Furniture Limited is offering to buy The Brick Ltd. in a deal the company values at $700 million. The offer is subject to approval by Brick shareholders and will need court and regulatory approval. Leon's will pay $5.40 per share in either cash or debentures. The closing price on Brick shares on the TSX on Friday was $3.50.
Leon's says the two chains would continue to operate as separate entities.
Investors will also look to Research In Motion after the company announced it will officially launch its long-awaited new BlackBerry 10 operating system on Jan. 30 simultaneously in several countries. Besides marking the official launch of BlackBerry 10, the company will also unveil the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
On the economic slate, figures released by Statistics Canada showed that the economy continued moving, however slowly. Real gross domestic product rose 0.1% in the third quarter, slowing from the 0.4% growth in the second quarter. The slower pace of growth was the result of declines in exports and business investment. Final domestic demand grew 0.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 13.01 points Thursday to 1,218.38
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures pushed higher. Friday could be a relatively quiet trading day, as investors stay tuned to the latest developments in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrials futures eked ahead two points to 13,023, while S&P 500 futures slid 0.5points to 1,415.20, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq added 1.25 points to 2,681.25
Before the bell Friday, investors learned that personal income remained unchanged in October, while spending declined by 0.2% in the month.
Chicago's Purchasing Manager Index, a barometer of manufacturing activity in the area, is due shortly after trade begins.
Few stocks made big moves in pre-market trading Friday, though shares of St. Jude Medical were 2.4% higher one day after the hospital's board authorized a $1-billion U.S. stock buyback. Yum! Brands fell more nearly 8% in pre-market trade after the firm softened its expectations for China, predicting same-store sales in that key market would decline 4% in the fourth quarter.
Zynga shares were off 9% early Friday, after tumbling 13% after-hours Thursday on news that the terms of its deal with Facebook had substantially changed.
Research firm NPD Group reported sales of PCs running Microsoft in the four weeks ended November 17 dropped 21% from the previous year. Microsoft released its new operating system, Windows 8, on October 26.
Asian markets played catch-up Friday, but were also helped by the approval of a new stimulus package in Japan and expectations of strong Chinese factory data due over the weekend. Extending weekly gains, the Nikkei rose 0.5%, the Hang Seng advanced 0.5% and the Shanghai Composite jumped 0.9%.
European bourses were mixed with London's FTSE 100 index up 0.33% and the Frankfurt's DAX up 0.3% while the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.2%.
