Stocks in Toronto hope to track their American cousins and recover some lost ground Friday, amid mixed economic data.
The S&P/TSX composite index lost 86.21 points to close Thursday at 13,294.20
The Canadian dollar gained 0.05 cents to 95.67 cents U.S. early Friday
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that employment was little changed for the second consecutive month and the unemployment rate remained at 6.9% in October.
What’s more, data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp showed housing starts hiked 198,282 units last month, up from an upwardly revised 195,929 in September and surpassing analysts' expectations for 190,800.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ditched 10.23 points Thursday to 931.08
ON WALLSTREET
Investors will be looking to October U.S. employment numbers for clues as to when the Federal Reserve will begin taking its foot off the gas. Stronger than expected economic data Thursday reignited talk that the Fed may begin tapering the bond purchases that have helped drive markets to record highs.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials docked nine points, or 0.1%, at 15,558. Futures for the S&P 500 nicked up 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,746.70, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 4.5 points, or 0.1%, to 3,324.
Investors will also be watching Twitter on Friday as it enters its second day of trading. Twitter shares closed at $44.90 U.S. on Thursday, a whopping 73% gain from its initial public offering price of $26 U.S.
Groupon shares bounced back after disappointing earnings and a weak outlook sent the stock down 5% after hours Thursday.
Walt Disney reported slightly better-than-expected earnings and sales.
Non-farm payrolls in the U.S. were up 204,000, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.9%.
Economists had predicted that the economy added 120,000 jobs last month.
Also, the Commerce Department will publish its monthly report on personal income and spending. At 9:55 ET, the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters release their consumer sentiment index.
European markets were falling in morning trading, tracking a negative finish on Wall Street. The CAC 40 was the weakest of the major regional indexes, falling 0.8% after S&P downgraded France's long term credit rating by one notch to AA.
Asian markets chalked up big losses despite strong China trade data. Japan's Nikkei fell 1% and the Shanghai Composite was down 1.1%
Oil prices added a penny to $94.21 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell 90 cents to $1,307.60 U.S. an ounce.
