Canadian stock index futures were little changed to slightly lower as uncertainty over the outcome of the presidential election weighed on investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite faded 11.3 points to conclude Thursday at 14,583.42
The Canadian dollar fell 0.18 cents to 74.46 cents U.S. early Friday.
Fairfax Financial Holdings barely eked out a profit for the third quarter as the company booked steep losses on its investments.
Telus Corp reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by increased spending on the company's broadband network.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, excluding capital expenditure, fell nearly 23%.
TMX Group posted a sharp percentage rise in quarterly profit and raised its dividend for the first time since 2010 late on Thursday
Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of transportation in and around Toronto, filed notice that it could terminate its contract with
Bombardier Inc, a spokeswoman said on Thursday, after lengthy delivery delays. The pilot vehicle is about two years behind schedule.
National Bank of Canada has issued a 3.5-billion-yuan panda bond, the first North American financial institution to do so, after Beijing approved its five-billion-yuan bond programme in September.
RBC raised the rating on Encana Corp to outperform from sector perform, saying the company has some of the best real estate and possesses solid execution capability.
CIBC raised the target price on Saputo to $54.00 from $45.00, following the company's strong Q2 results with earnings coming in well ahead of expectations in all segments.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 44,000 jobs in October, bringing the unemployment rate to 7%, as more people participated in the labour market.
What’s more, the agency reported that Canada's imports rose 4.7% to a record $47.6 billion in September. Exports edged up 0.1% to $43.5 billion.
As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $2 billion in August to a record $4.1 billion in September.
Finally, Western University’s Ivey School of Business reported its Purchasing Managers’ Index for October at 10 a.m. ET.
(Remember also that the clocks turn back on the weekend, as much of the nation returns to Standard Time).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 9.15 points, or 1.2%, Friday to 760.96
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Friday as traders eyed October's jobs report and geared up for next week's presidential election, where some polls appear to show the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tightening as campaigning enters its final days.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dropped 18 points, or 0.1%, to 17,834, while futures for the S&P 500 fell 1.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,082.25. NASDAQ futures lost 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,672
On the earnings front, Regeneron, Madison Square Garden and Duke Energy all posted quarterly results before the bell.
Non-farm payrolls came in at 161,000 in October, versus projections of 175,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained at 4.9%, as predicted.
The trade deficit data was also due this morning.
In Europe, markets were lower on Friday. In Asia, the Shanghai composite in China closed 0.1% lower and the Nikkei in Japan closed 1.3% lower.
Oil prices dipped 42 cents to $44.24 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped 70 cents at $1,302.60 U.S. an ounce.
