Stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open for Canada's main stock index on Friday as investors take cues from weakening global markets due to a selloff in technology stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Thursday by dropping 127.58 points to 14,308, with futures failing 0.9% early Friday morning.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.39 cents to 91.06 cents U.S. early Friday
Former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who steered Canada through the global financial crisis and then nearly eliminated the huge budget deficits he had run up in the process, died on Thursday just weeks after resigning.
Barclays, Canaccord Genuity both raised their target prices on Cogeco Cable
National Bank cut the rating on Innergex Renewable Energy to sector-perform from outperform
Barclays, Canaccord Genuity also each raised their target prices on Shaw Communications
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 9.81 points Thursday to 993.56
ON WALLSTREET
Markets could be in for another rough session Friday after disappointing earnings from JPMorgan.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 77 points, or 0.5%, to 16,033. Futures for the S&P 500 subsided 8.9 points, or 0.5%, to 1,818.20, and futures for the NASDAQ slipped 17.5 points, or 0.5%, to 3,462.50.
U.S. stock futures dropped significantly after JPMorgan Chase earnings missed forecasts. Investors didn't share the "growing confidence" that Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon talked about in his earnings statements.
The news was a bit rosier for Wells Fargo, which reported a double-digit gain for net profit in the first quarter. Shares rose in pre-market trading.
Earnings reports from big banks for the first quarter are dominating investor sentiment. Given yesterday's tech selloff, investor queasiness could easily spread into other corners of the market.
Shares of H&R Block jumped in pre-market trading after the company said it will sell its bank to Bofl Federal Bank. Shares of retailer GAP slid when the company said sales fell in March.
In economic news, the U.S. government published the monthly producer price index and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will come out later this morning.
A tech rout that started in the U.S. continued in Asia, with Tencent plunging 6.8%. Samsung fell, as did leading Japanese tech brands. The Nikkei 225 index plunged 2.38%, taking its loss for the week to 7.3%.
European markets were also caught up in the fallout from Wall Street's slump. Germany's DAX led the way lower with a loss of about 2%
Oil prices fell 25 cents to $103.15 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices eked up 80 cents to $1,321.30 U.S. an ounce.
