Futures pointed to a slightly higher open for Toronto stock markets on Friday as investors remained on the edge ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next week.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Thursday off 124.37 points, or nearly 1%, to 12,701.05. Morning futures nicked up 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.11 cents to 96.75 cents U.S. early Friday
National Bank Financial cut the target price on BRP Inc to $31 from $32 after the company reported results that were below expectations
RBC cut the target price on Torex Gold Resources Inc to $2.25 from $2.50 as a result of the company pushing out the initial start date of Morelos.
RBC raised the target price on Transcontinental Inc. to $16 from $15 after the company reported third-quarter results that were better than expected
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.84 points to close at 940.39
ON WALLSTREET
Markets are in a holding pattern as investors anticipate the next moves from the U.S. Federal Reserve and wait for more details on Twitter's IPO plans.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials added 26 points, or 0.2%, to 15,336. Futures for the S&P 500 were not available at press time, but futures for the NASDAQ gained five points, or 0.2%, at 3,174.50
Twitter grabbed plenty of headlines when the social networking site revealed after the closing bell Thursday that it had issued a confidential filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a planned Initial Public Offering.
Investors were awaiting more details on the offering. Twitter has not yet disclosed information about sales, profits and other key financial information. It is also not clear if the company will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ
But Twitter's IPO filing comes at a time when social media stocks are red hot. Facebook and LinkedIn are near all-time highs. Groupon has more than doubled in 2013 while Yelp has more than tripled year-to-date.
Investors will also be keeps tabs on a batch of economic releases due later in the day, including the U.S. Census Bureau's monthly retail sales report this morning. The data could increase the likelihood that the Federal Reserve's will decide to begin scaling back its quantitative easing program at a meeting next week.
European markets were lower in midday trading Friday, while most major Asian indexes closed in the red.
Oil prices slid 87 cents to $107.73 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $18.70 to $1,311.90 U.S. an ounce.
