The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Friday at the end of a positive week after the U.S. Federal Reserve removed a great degree of uncertainty over its stimulus plans.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 57.47 points to end Thursday at 13,392.20
The Canadian dollar backtracked 0.44 cents to 93.33 cents U.S. early Friday
Traders will also focus on BlackBerry after the struggling smartphone maker handed in quarterly earnings that were worse than expected.
BlackBerry posted a loss of $4.4 billion U.S. or $8.37 a share, down from a profit of $9 million or two cents a share a year ago. Ex-items, earnings were $353 million or 67 cents a share, 23 cents below estimates. Revenue of $1.2 billion missed estimates of $1.6 billion.
But its shares gained 3.5% in pre-market trading in New York as BlackBerry also said it finished the quarter with $3.2 billion in cash, and expects that strong cash position to continue in the current quarter. The firm also announced it had entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Foxconn to make phones in Indonesia and other fast-growing markets.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that November’s Consumer Price Index inched up 0.2%, after a 0.1% drop in October. On a year-over-year basis, the increase was 0.9%.
The agency also reported that retail sales eased 0.1% in October, in comparison to a market call of a 0.2% increase. This following three straight monthly gains, and mostly the result of lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.60 points Thursday to 887.58
ON WALLSTREET
Markets are close to all-time highs. And there could be more cheer Friday morning, with U.S. stock futures indicating modestly positive start when the bell rings.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 18 points, or 0.1%, to 16,133. Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 2.1 points, or 0.1%, to 1,804.20, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 5.75 points, or 0.2%, to 3,498.50.
U.S. stocks finished flat Thursday, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out a new high ... its 46th record close of the year.
In corporate news, BlackBerry reported a steeper-than-expected $4.4-billion U.S. loss and a 56% drop in quarterly sales. The struggling smartphone maker also announced a five-year strategic partnership with Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn.
Drugstore chain Walgreen reported quarterly gains in sales and net income.
Looking ahead to Friday, the U.S. government will release its third estimate of third-quarter GDP on ET Friday.
China's benchmark index, the Shanghai Composite, fell for a ninth consecutive day Friday, dropping 2% to a four-month low even after an emergency cash injection by the country's central bank.
The People's Bank of China made the announcement on Weibo -- a micro-blog site similar to Twitter -- but the move largely failed to quell investor fears that cash was in short supply in the system, in an echo of a liquidity crunch earlier in the year.
The Shanghai Composite has fallen by just over 6% this month and is down by 8% since the start of the year.
European markets were mostly higher in morning trading, while Asian markets ended mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong drifted lower, but other markets posted big gains to end the week.
Oil prices subtracted 32 cents to $98.72 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dipped $2.70 at $1,190.70 U.S. an ounce.
