Stock futures pointed to a slightly lower start for Canada's main stock index as investors digested data on gross domestic product to gauge the health of the economy.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 80.96 points to end Thursday at 14,382.76
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.2 cents to 76.71 cents U.S. early Friday
Athabasca Oil Corp said it would cut its capital expenditure by nearly 5% as oil prices stay low. The company said it would now spend $291 million this year, down from its earlier estimate of $305 million due to a reduction in planned thermal oil expenditure.
The company's net loss narrowed to $29 million, or seven cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $56.8 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier.
Canadian Oil Sands reported a quarterly loss, hurt by fall in crude oil prices and deferred tax expenses due to an increase in the provincial corporate tax rate in Alberta. The company also cut its 2015 capital spending forecast to $422 million from $451 million. The company reported a loss of $128 million, or 26 cents per share. The company posted a profit of $176 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.
Enbridge Inc posted a 54% rise in quarterly adjusted profit on Friday, helped by increased throughput as producers moved more oil by pipes than on rail. The Calgary-based company's adjusted earnings rose to $505 million, or 60 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from $328 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc reported a smaller loss due to a steep fall in restructuring costs as the company's multi-year program to upgrade its meat operations nears completion. Restructuring costs fell about 64% to $7.3 million in the second quarter ended June 30, the company said on Thursday.
Net loss from continuing operations narrowed to $7.5 million, or five cents per share, from $39.5 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.
TransCanada Corp reported a 19.6% rise in comparable profit, helped mainly by higher earnings from its Canadian Mainline and Keystone pipelines. Comparable earnings rose to $397 million, or 56 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, from $332 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
On the economic scene, Statistics Canada reported that the economy sank yet again in May, for the fifth straight time, with Gross Domestic Product down 0.2% in May.
The decline in May was mostly a result of contractions in manufacturing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction as well as wholesale trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.54 points to 588.30
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are not making any major moves ahead of the open.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 46 points, or 0.3%, to 17,640, futures for the S&P dipped 5.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,098.25, and futures for the NASDAQ regressed 10.5 points, or 0.2%, to 4,584.75
The Dow Jones industrial average has added 0.7% this month. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have both posted healthier gains of 2.2% and 2.9%, respectively.
Shares in LinkedIn are highly volatile pre-market as investors react to the group's earnings released Thursday. At first, shares shot up, but then pushed deep into negative territory as investors grew concerned about future revenue growth.
Shares in Expedia are rising by about 8% pre-market after releasing better-than-expected quarterly results.
Shares in Hanesbrands are tumbling by about 8.5% in reaction to its new earnings report from Thursday afternoon.
Earnings continue to roll in Friday.
Several major oil companies including Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Phillips 66 are expected to release results before the market opens.
This morning, the U.S. government will report whether workers' paychecks grew during the second quarter. For the first quarter, the Employment Cost Index showed wages and salaries were up 0.7%, slightly better than the 0.6% growth in the final quarter of 2014.
A final reading of July's Consumer Sentiment Index is also expected at 10 a.m. from the University of Michigan. Preliminary numbers showed consumers were slightly less tempted to spend money this month.
European markets are mixed in early trading.
Most Asian markets ended with gains, except for China where the Shanghai Composite dipped by 1.1% and the Shenzhen index edged down by 0.8%. Chinese markets have stabilized a bit after crashing earlier this month. The Shanghai index lost 14% in July.
Oil prices faded 87 cents to $47.65 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices demurred $6.70 at $1,081.70 U.S. an ounce.
