Canadian stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday as the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to maintain a highly accommodative monetary policy for some time continued to support markets.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index soared 186.33 points, or 1.5%, to close Thursday at 12,493.26, pushing the TSX back into positive territory for the year. Futures were 0.4% higher Friday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.16 cents to 96.32 cents U.S. early Friday
Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. said that it will take a 60% stake in Medicago Inc. in a joint purchase with a Philip Morris International subsidiary.
RBC raised the target price on Cogeco Cable to $54 from $51 as the company provided slightly better than expected third-quarter FY13 results.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on Corus Entertainment Inc to $21.50 from $22.50 following the company's below-expectation results in third quarter.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on DragonWave Inc. to $2.60 from $1.90 on valuation.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange leaped 14.67 points Thursday to 893.81
ON WALLSTREET
A day after U.S. markets scaled new peaks, investors were showing more caution.
Futures for the Dow Industrials took on 13 points, or 0.1%, to 15,406. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.7 points to 1,670.80, and futures for the NASDAQ advanced 4.5 points, or 0.2%, to 3,059.50
Wall Street was firmly in focus Friday morning. JPMorgan Chase reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations, while revenue just barely beat forecasts. Wells Fargo reported earnings that beat expectations, while revenue was roughly in line with forecasts.
Multinational technology consulting firm Infosys reported results ahead of the open, with decent revenue gains but weak earnings growth year-over-year.
In economic news, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was to release its monthly report on producer prices at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters will release their consumer sentiment survey at 9:55 a.m. ET.
European markets made some modest progress in morning trading. Germany's DAX was the leading index.
Meanwhile, Asian markets closed the week with mixed results.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index and the Hang Seng index both fell back after staging big run-ups earlier in the week.
Investors became confused about China's growth projections after the country's finance minister signaled growth could be 7% for the year, below the government's official forecast of 7.5%.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 0.2% firmer.
Oil prices added 65 cents to $105.56 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $8.50 to $1,271.40 U.S.
