Canada's main stock index looked set to open higher on Friday, as better-than-expected data on German business morale and encouraging manufacturing surveys from the United States and China cheered investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index picked up 29.57 points to close Thursday at 12,823.62, with futures trading up 0.4% this morning.
The Canadian dollar dipped another 0.46 cents to 99.32 cents U.S. Friday morning, after closing yesterday below parity with its American neighbour for the first time since November
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expects to choose the country's next central bank governor in April and said on Friday he was looking worldwide for the right candidate, who must hold a Canadian passport.
Among stocks to watch north of the border, Enbridge Inc CEO Al Monaco said Thursday the company has started to sketch out plans for moving Canadian crude oil to a U.S. refining market it has so far had little access to - the eastern Gulf Coast region of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Business software maker Open Text Corp. reported a 29% growth in quarterly profit on revenue from cloud-based services.
On the economic slate, the cost of living showed a consistent rise last month. Figures released by Statistics Canada this morning showed the consumer price index hiked 0.8% in December, matching November’s increase.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 12.07 points Thursday to 1,229.46
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were higher early Friday as investors welcomed better-than-expected corporate results ahead of fresh data on home sales.
Futures for the Dow Industrials jumped 32 points to 13,813. Futures for the S&P 500 climbed 4.9 points, or 0.3%, to 1,496.70, and futures for the Nasdaq took on 11.5 points, or 0.4%, to 2,729.75
Procter & Gamble shares rose 2% after the Dow component said it earned $1.39 U.S. per share in the final three months of 2012, topping analysts’ estimates. The company, which makes a variety of household goods, raised its outlook for earnings and share repurchases in 2013.
Honeywell swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and issued upbeat guidance for the year. Halliburton also reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations, driven by strength in the company's international divisions.
Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 4.45% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ.
Of the 142 companies that had reported results as of Thursday evening, 94 beat analysts' expectations.
Investors will also get another look at the strength of the housing recovery on Friday, with the Census Bureau set to release data on new home sales for December at 10 a.m. ET.
U.S. stocks ended Thursday mixed, with Apple weighing on the Nasdaq. The tech giant's shares fell more than 12% after it said sales in the current quarter would come in below analysts' expectations, even though earnings in the most recent quarter rose to a record $13.1 billion U.S.
Starbucks shares rose 2% in premarket trading Friday, after the company reported earnings late Thursday that were in line with analysts' estimates.
Meanwhile, Microsoft shares sank after hours as the firm reported quarterly sales that fell short of expectations. And AT&T shares were flat after the wireless carrier beat on sales but missed on earnings.
Overseas, European markets were higher in morning trading, with the DAX in Germany adding more than 1%. London's FTSE 100 edged higher early Friday, despite data showing the U.K. economy shrank 0.3% in the fourth quarter. The weaker-than-expected performance raised concerns that Britain could slide back into recession.
Asian markets ended mixed. Shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell sightly, but the Nikkei in Japan surged more than 2%. Japanese stocks have rallied as investors bet recent moves by the Bank of Japan and newly-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will revive the nation's economy.
Oil prices added 24 cents to $96.19 cents U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slipped $9.30 an ounce to $1,660.60 U.S.
