Stock futures pointed to a slightly lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday as investors digested key economic data including building permits, trade balance and U.S. payrolls.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 20.27 points to close Thursday at 15,103.11, with March futures listing lower by 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.13 cents to 80.21 cents U.S. early Friday.
Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, said on Thursday it plans to boost the size of two lines carrying crude from the oil sands while shaving $400 million from their original price tag.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it had paid 1.1 billion pounds to buy Liberty Living, one of Britain's biggest providers of student accommodation.
Barclays cut the price target on Baytex Energy Corp to $21.00 from $23.00
RBC raised the target price on Canadian Natural Resources to $43.00 from $41.00
RBC also cut the target price on Canyon Services Group Inc. to $9.00 from $10.00
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that our imports were flat in January, while our exports plunged 2.8%. As a result, Canada’s trade balance with the rest of the world, widened from $1.2 billion in December to $2.5 billion in January, the largest since the record $2.9-billion deficit in July 2012.
Moreover, the agency said that building permits fell in January to $6.1 billion, following a 6.1% increase the previous month. StatsCan chalks this up to lower construction intentions for non-residential buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.17 points Thursday to 696.92
ON WALLSTREET
Investors are looking Friday for some fireworks to develop from employment figures that surprised to the upside.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials picked up seven points to 18,127. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 1.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,101, and futures for the NASDAQ took on 6.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,455.75.
Shares in Bank of America are edging up pre-market after the Federal Reserve gave the bank, and 30 other major players, a clean bill of health following its latest stress tests. It's worth keeping an eye on other bank stocks, particularly Citigroup, which may now be able to hike its dividend and launch a share buyback.
Shares in travel company Thomas Cook are surging in London by about 16% after China'sFosun International announced it had bought a 5% stake in the firm, worth about £92 million ($140 million U.S).
Staples, Big Lots and Foot Locker are reporting ahead of the open.
Economically speaking, the U.S. economy added 295,000 in February, up from 257,000 the month before, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.5% from 5.7% in January.
Economists predicted that 235,000 jobs were created in February, and projected the unemployment rate to edge down to 5.6%.
European markets are mixed in early trading. Asian markets also ended with mixed results. The biggest mover was the Nikkei in Japan, which jumped 1.2%.
Oil prices inched up 0.2% to $50.88 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices were flat at $1,196.20 U.S. an ounce.
