Canada's main stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Friday, despite encouraging Chinese trade data that set the scene for economic recovery. Canadian jobs and housing data both came in weaker than expected.
The S&P/TSX composite index shed 5.67 points to finish Thursday at 12,755.92, with futures down 0.04%.
The less-than-glad economic tidings made its presence felt on the Canadian dollar which ducked 0.44 cents to fall below parity with its American neighbour at 99.78 cents U.S. early Friday.
In company news, gold miner Aurizon Mines Ltd. said it was in talks with a number of potential buyers, after rejecting an unsolicited $780-million offer from Alamos Gold Inc last month.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. said a mid-stage trial of its experimental lung cancer drug showed that 95% of the patients experienced a reduction in the size of their tumours.
China's exports and imports surged and new lending soared in January as the first hard data of the year signaled both a solid recovery in domestic and overseas demand, and the risk that inflationary pressures are building.
On the domestic economic sheet, Statistics Canada gave out mixed signals on the job front in January. The agency said employment decreased 21,900 (experts had projected a net job gain of 5,000), but a decline in the number of those seeking work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage points to 7.0%.
The nation’s number-crunchers also noted that our merchandise imports fell 2.8% in December while exports declined 0.9%. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world dipped from $1.7 billion in November to $901 million in December.
Finally, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation declared that both single and multiple housing starts plunged last month, particularly in Ontario. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts came in at 160,577 units in January, down from 197,118 in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 5.61 points to finish Thursday at 1,206.11
ON WALLSTREET
Earnings are back on the radar screens of most investors.
Futures for the Dow Industrials fell 14 points, or 0.1%, to 13,884. Futures for the S&P 500 erased 0.5 points to 1,504.80, and futures for the NASDAQ edged ahead four points, or 0.2%, to 2,746
Friday marks the end of a sluggish week for stocks, the kind that typically follows a rally like the one markets have had since the start of 2013. The Dow and S&P 500 have risen sharply, both up about 6% and near their all-time highs. The NASDAQ gained nearly 5% in that time period.
AOL shares swelled more than 7% after the web portal reported revenue growth for the first time in eight years. Fourth-quarter profits were in line with expectations.
Credit ratings agency Moody's also reported profits that met expectations. Still, shares edged downward in pre-market trading on worries that the U.S. government might sue the firm over its ratings of mortgage securities, as it did rival Standard & Poor’s earlier this week.
Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.8%, amid worries voiced by Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso that the yen has weakened more than the government had hoped. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite increased 0.6% in the final day of trading before an extended Chinese New Year holiday.
Economically speaking, trade deficit shrank in December to $38.5 billion U.S., down from $48.6 billion U.S. the previous month, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Data on wholesale inventories is due at 10 a.m.
Oil prices nipped up two cents to $95.85 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $3.20 an ounce to $1,668.10 U.S.
