Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday, as investors digested the country's latest inflation data.
The S&P/TSX composite index inched higher 6.66 points to end Friday at 15,465.54, with Friday futures surging 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar let go of 0.31 cents to 91.13 cents U.S. early Friday.
TransCanada Corp. is emerging as a possible target, with several U.S. activist hedge funds reviewing the nearly-$38-billion pipeline operator as a break-up candidate, people close to the matter said.
Bank of Montreal was sued on Thursday by a trustee liquidating two Florida funds that claimed to have lost money in a Ponzi scheme operated by Minnesota businessman Thomas Petters.
Air Canada said on Thursday it will start charging some economy passengers for their first checked bag on flights within Canada and to the Caribbean and Mexico, days after rival WestJet Airlines Ltd introduced a similar fee.
RBC raised target price on Penn West Petroleum RBC raises target price by $1 to $11
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that August’s Consumer Price Index inched up 0.1%, after a 0.1% decline in July. The agency also says consumer prices rose 2.1% in the 12 months to August, matching the increase in July.
The agency also noted that wholesale trade backtracked 0.3% in July to $52.9 billion, following three consecutive monthly gains.
Declines in five subsectors, which together represented 81% of wholesale sales, more than offset an increase in the motor vehicle and parts subsector. Excluding this subsector, wholesale sales declined 1.0%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 6.72 points Thursday to 965.79.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock markets are raring to go Friday, as Alibaba's market debut is fast approaching and Scotland has just voted to remain in the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials moved higher 60 points, or 0.4%, to 17,238. Futures for the S&P 500 forged ahead 4.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,009.25, and futures for the NASDAQ hiked 12.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,109.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Alibaba's debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "BABA."
The Chinese e-commerce giant, founded by Jack Ma, has made history with the largest U.S.-listed initial public offering of all time.
Shares were priced Thursday at $68 U.S., raising $21.8 billion U.S. and valuing the company at $168 billion. That's more than double eBay's $64-billion U.S. market value and even tops the market capitalization of 20-year-old Amazon.
Friday will mark the first time individual investors can buy a stake in the company.
ConAgra shares shot up by about 5% pre-market after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
On the other hand, shares of Oracle dipped about 2% lower in extended trading after founder Larry Ellison announced he will be stepping down as CEO.
Scotland has voted to remain in the United Kingdom after a polarizing referendum, pushing up U.K. stock markets and the pound.
The London FTSE 100 index gained about 0.6% Friday morning.
The Nikkei in Japan was particularly strong as the yen weakened.
Oil prices settled 48 cents to $92.59 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid $3.80 to $1,223.10 U.S. an ounce.
