Stock futures pointed to a marginally lower opening for Canada's main stock index, as investors digested the country's gross domestic product data.
The S&P/TSX composite index faded 70.12 points to finish Thursday at 13,793.04
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.06 cents to 76.01 cents U.S. early Friday
Canadian Oil Sands, the biggest shareholder in the Syncrude project has not received a rival offer to a hostile takeover bid by Suncor Energy, but it is "getting interest" as it explores alternatives.
The company on Thursday reported a loss of $174 million , or 36 cents per share. That was a much wider loss than the average analyst expectation of a loss of 22 cents per share.
Hydro One Ltd, Ontario electric utility’s initial public offering was priced at $20.50 per share on Thursday, raising $1.66 billion and marking one of the biggest IPOs in Canadian history.
The pricing suggested demand for a roughly 15% stake in the province's largest electric utility was high. The shares, which will list on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "H", are expected to begin trading on Nov. 5.
Quebec's $1-billion bailout for Bombardier is meant to protect thousands of jobs in one of the province's top industries, but risks worsening the finances of Canada's most indebted province if it fails.
The deal would give Quebec's Liberal-run government a 49.5% stake in Bombardier's troubled CSeries jet program, according to the announcement on Thursday, easing shareholder fears about the company's future but triggering an outcry from taxpayer advocates and opposition politicians.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said it is terminating all ties with Philidor due to allegations relating to the specialty pharmacy distributor's business practices. Valeant said it intends develop a plan to ensure patients' access to drugs is minimally disrupted.
Cameco Corp reports Q3 earnings, expecting 30 cents per share
Domtar Corp. expects Q3 earnings of 54 cents per share
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that Gross Domestic Product edged up 0.1% in August, following increases of 0.4% in June and 0.3% in July. The agency mainly attributes growth in August to gains in manufacturing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 6.44 points Thursday to 539.71
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. futures are solid ahead of the open, indicating stocks may edge higher when the trading bell rings.
European markets are mostly positive in early trading, though the gains are small.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones gained 35 points, or 0.2%, to 17,719, futures for the S&P 500 gained four points, or 0.2%, to 2,087, and futures for the NASDAQ added 9.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,671
First Solar released better-than-expected earnings on Thursday evening. Shares are rising by about 11% pre-market.
Expedia stock is also rising by about 6% in extended trading after the travel website company unveiled earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts.
But investors were unimpressed with the latest quarterly report from financial services company Genworth. Shares dropped by about 11% in extended trading.
Noteworthy companies reporting this morning include Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66, CVS Health and Chevron
Beer brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is also posting quarterly results and could provide an update about its planned takeover of SABMiller.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will post its September report on personal income and spending this morning, while the University of Michigan will give a final update to October's consumer sentiment index at 10 a.m.
Oil prices squeezed up eight cents to $46.14 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices faded $2.56 to $1,143.41 U.S. an ounce.
