Futures pointed to a slightly lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday as investors await March factory sales data and ahead of the long weekend.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 47.4 points to close Thursday’s session at 15,028.12
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.39 cents to 83.05 cents U.S. early Friday.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported our international transactions in securities were up significantly in March to $22.5 billion. Foreign acquisitions of Canadian private corporate securities accounted for the bulk of this activity. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $3.2 billion, all debt instruments.
Moreover, manufacturing sales manufacturing sales rose 2.9% to $51.0 billion in March, the second increase in six months.
Experts predicted Canadian factory sales would rise 1.2% in March after unexpectedly falling 1.7% in February.
Finally, the Canadian Real Estate Association was due to report home sales for April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 1.11 points Thursday to 692
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are inching higher ahead of the open, which could mean more stock market records by the end of the day.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials advanced 16 points, or 0.1%, to 18,218, futures for the S&P 500 gained two points, or 0.1%, to 2,119.5, and futures for the NASDAQ gained nine points, or 0.2%, to 4,499.25
The maker of the popular Candy Crush game is getting crushed. Shares in King Digital Entertainment are down by roughly 10% pre-market after the company said foreign currency swings could hurt its results later in the year. Investors are also concerned about whether the company's new games will be popular.
The University of Michigan will publish its monthly consumer sentiment index at 10 a.m. ET.
European markets are rising in early trading, while Asian markets closed the week with mixed results.
The Hang Seng was a standout performer, jumping by 2% Friday. The Hong Kong index has surged by 18% since the start of the year.
Oil prices dipped 29 cents to $59.59 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices lost $10.70 to $1,214.50 U.S. an ounce.
