Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday ahead the country's GDP data.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 44.48 points to close Thursday at 15,558.17, with September futures up 1% Friday.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.05 cents to 92.23 cents U.S. early Friday.
The risk of a property market crash in Canada has not ebbed, according to an increasing number of analysts polled by Reuters who said chances of a steep fall in prices have increased in the past year.
Irving Oil's oil-by-rail terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick, has seen increasing air quality problems since it started up in 2012, undermining the company's assurances to regulators the project would likely not impact the environment, according to documents obtained by Reuters.
EU lawmakers are threatening to block a multi-billion-dollar trade pact between Canada and the European Union, a blueprint for a much bigger EU-U.S. deal, because it would allow firms to sue governments if they breach the treaty.
NBF resumes coverage on Altagas with an outperform rating
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to $108.00 from $105.00
On the economic calendar, the economy showed encouraging signs in the second quarter of 2014. Figures released by Statistics Canada revealed that real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.8%, following a 0.2% increase in the first quarter. This was the largest quarterly gain since the third quarter of 2011. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry increased 0.3% in June.
In a mini-blizzard of activity, the agency also said its Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.3% in July, mainly because of lower prices for energy and petroleum products. StatsCan’s Raw Materials Price Index declined 1.4%, mostly due to lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.03 points Thursday to 1,022.37.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. markets are looking to close out the month of August with yet another day of solid gains.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials moved ahead 30 points, or 0.2%, to 17,107. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 4.25 points, or 0.2%, 2,001, and futures for the NASDAQ advanced 10.5 points, or 0.3%, to 4,080.25.
The major U.S. indexes have climbed up by roughly 3% to 4% over the course of the month, with the S&P 500 hitting record-high levels.
The U.S. government will report personal income and spending numbers this morning. Later on, the University of Michigan will release the final reading of its consumer sentiment index for August.
Investors are taking notice after NATO published satellite images showing evidence of Russian troops inside Ukraine.
The ruble was off by about 0.3% versus the U.S. dollar on Friday. It's fallen by 10.5% since the start of the year.
Major markets across Europe were higher in early trading.
Fresh monthly data from Eurostat showed that European inflation remains tepid and unemployment in the euro area is stuck at 11.5%. The numbers are likely to feed expectations that the European Central Bank will be forced to embark upon a stimulus program to support the economy.
Japanese markets were soft Friday after more weak data failed to support the country's Abenomics revival plan.
Most other Asian markets closed the week with some gains.
Oil prices gained 28 cents to $94.83 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices sagged four dollars to $1,286.40 U.S. an ounce.
