Canadian stocks looked set to open lower on Friday, taking a cue from global markets after U.S. President Barack Obama stoked fears of another drawn out conflict in Iraq by authorizing targeted air strikes against Islamist rebels.
The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 83.32 points to end Thursday at 15,118.77. Futures were down 0.1% Friday.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.09 cents to 91.63 cents U.S. early Friday
Magna International reported a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly profit and raised its full-year sales forecast, helped by strong demand in North America and continued recovery in Europe.
TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange, said it plans to launch a new business to allow capital raising and the trading of securities of privately owned entities.
Tekmira Pharmaceutical said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had modified its clinical hold status on Tekmira's experimental Ebola treatment to enable its potential use in humans infected with the virus.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Air Canada to $13.00 from $12.00.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that overall employment was unchanged in July, as gains in part-time work were offset by losses in full-time. The agency also said a decline in the number of folks searching for work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage points to 7.0%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 3.91 points Thursday to 995.65
ON WALLSTREET
Futures were cautiously ahead as investors worry about America's military moves in Iraq and an escalating trade war with Russia.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 24 points, or 0.2%, to 16,345. Futures for the S&P 500 added 4.75 points, or 0.3%, to 1,910, and futures for the NASDAQ moved up 7.25 points, or 0.2%, to 3,864.
Shares in 21st Century Fox were falling by 7% pre-market. The company announced this week it was dropping its bid to buy Time Warner and shares had jumped by about 6%.
Shares of game maker Zynga plunged in extended trading after the company reported a loss for its second quarter.
A variety of big tech companies including Google and Facebook were also seeing their shares decline in premarket trading, in line with market sentiment.
Tesla was down about 1% despite resolving a trademark dispute that threatened its growth in China.
Sotheby's is among the key companies reporting second quarter earnings before the opening bell.
U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized "targeted airstrikes" in Iraq to protect American personnel and help Iraqi forces. Concerns are growing about a humanitarian crisis in Iraq where minority groups are facing possible slaughter by Sunni Muslim extremists.
European markets were all declining by about 1% in early trading, and the Dax in Germany plunged into correction territory. The benchmark index has fallen by about 11% since its peak in late June as investors worry about the effects Russian sanctions will have on the German economy.
Nearly every Asian stock market index also closed in negative territory. The Nikkei 225 in Japan dropped by 3%.
Oil prices gained 41 cents to $97.75 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices regained three dollars to $1,315.50 U.S. an ounce.
