Stock futures pointed to a higher start for markets in Toronto on Friday as oil prices hovered near $45.00 U.S. per barrel.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped 30.09 points to conclude Thursday at 13,881.20. June futures poked up 0.07%.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.01 cents to 78.54 cents U.S. early Friday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is seeking to appoint Perrigo Co Plc's boss Joseph Papa as its new chief executive, a source familiar with the matter said.
Shares of Canada's Concordia Healthcare Corp surged 25% on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP is considering a takeover.
Canada’s largest private sector union says a $1-billion federal aid package for Bombardier should not be delayed over fears that the plane-and-train maker could outsource jobs to Mexico or China.
RBC cut the target price on Altagas Ltd. to $33.00 from $36.00, with a sector perform rating
CIBC initiates coverage on First Quantum Minerals with sector outperformer rating, and $10.00 target price
Barclays raised target on Teck Resources to $7.00 from $5.00 and an underweight rating
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the inflation rate moved dowb in March. The consumer price index rose 1.3% in the 12 months to March, after increasing 1.4% in February. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 1.9% year over year in March, matching the increase in February.
Meanwhile, March’s retail trade figures rose for the second consecutive month, advancing 0.4% to $44.2 billion in February. The agency said gains were reported in nine of 11 sub-sectors, representing 89% of total retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.13 points Thursday to 658.38.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are looking a bit soft on Friday while many European markets are dipping.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped nine points, or 0.1%, to 17,890, while futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.5 points to 2,082.25. NASDAQ futures faded 8.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,489.
Shares in Microsoft and Google parent company Alphabet are dropping in pre-market after both released quarterly results that disappointed Wall Street.
Ultimately, Alphabet had a tremendous quarter and posted double-digit sales and profit growth. But results were held back by the strong U.S. dollar.
The company said sales would have grown by six more percentage points had the dollar not been historically strong compared to foreign currencies.
Meanwhile, Microsoft had a pretty lousy quarter as it faced higher taxes and took a hit from the stronger U.S. dollar.
A whole load of companies are reporting earnings ahead of the opening bell, including McDonald's, American Airlines, Caterpillar and General Electric.
Shares in Sears could jump at the open after the company announced it is shuttering 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores across the U.S. The company is trying to accelerate the closure of unprofitable stores.
Shares in Aeropostale could continue to be under pressure Friday after Bloomberg reported that the struggling retailer is preparing to file for bankruptcy. Shares fell by 29% on Thursday
Asian markets ended the week with mixed results.
Oil prices gained 25 cents to $43.43 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dipped $1.21 to $1,268.50 U.S. an ounce.
