Futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Friday, as investors pinned their hopes on a trade deal between the United States and China, even as another round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 75.65 points to end a turbulent Thursday at 16,321.75
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents to 74.21 cents U.S. early Friday
June futures were down 0.01% Friday.
Enbridge beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit, as it benefited from transporting more oil and gas across its pipelines.
Nutrien Ltd. missed profit estimates for the second straight quarter on Thursday, as flooding across the United States and drought in Australia disrupted the agriculture supply chain.
TMX Group reported a quarterly profit that topped expectations on Thursday, helped by strength at its derivatives trading and global solutions business.
Desjardins raised the price target on Canadian Tire Corporation to C$185 from C$180
RBC cut the price target on Pinnacle Renewable Energy to C$15 from C$16
CIBC cut the price target on Optiva to C$50 from C$55
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said the economy created 107,000 jobs in April, with notable gains in part-time work for youth.
The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage points to 5.7% as more people participated in the labour market.
Elsewhere, Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in March, up 2.1% from February. The increase was attributable to higher construction intentions in Western Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 6.14 points Friday to 592.11
ON WALLSTREET
Wall Street is set to open lower on Friday as President Donald Trump said there's "absolutely no need to rush" on a trade agreement with China and tariffs will make the United States "much stronger."
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 143 points, or 0.6%, to 25,673
Futures for the S&P 500 forfeited 20 points, or 0.7%, at 2,852.75
NASDAQ futures fell 54.25 points, or 0.7%, to 7,541
Trump signaled in a Twitter post Friday morning he could stick with China tariffs for a long period of time. The comments came after he slapped higher tariffs — from 10% to 25% — on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
There's still hope that the U.S. and China could hatch a deal, however. Some market participants believe the new tariffs are not applied to Chinese exports that are already in transit before the deadline, which provides some additional time for the two sides to reach an agreement.
Shares of Ford rallied more than 2% in pre-market Friday, providing some support for the market, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the equity to buy from neutral, citing a strong utility vehicle and truck lineup over the next few years.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 sank 0.3% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index improved 0.8%
Oil prices nicked up 11 cents to $61.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices poked up 50 cents at $1,285.70 U.S. an ounce.
