Futures for stocks in Canada’s largest centre took a header Friday amid tensions in the Middle East after the United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani.
The TSX Composite Index advanced 36.52 points to finish Thursday at 17,099.95
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 77.02 cents U.S. early Friday
March futures erased 0.8% Friday.
Iran threatened to hit back hard after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed Soleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East.
Cowen and Company cut the rating on Air Canada to market
perform from outperform.
CIBC raised the price target on Park Lawn Corp to $34.00 from $30.00
Jefferies cut the price target on Canopy Growth to $21.00 from $25.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 10.33 points Thursday to 587.87
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were sharply lower Friday morning, after the U.S. confirmed an air strike that killed a top Iranian commander.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 226 points, or 0.8% Friday to 28,615.
Futures for the S&P 500 settled 30 points, or 0.5%, at 3,229.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite stumbled 94.5 points, or 1.1%, to 8,797.25.
U.S. equities rose to all-time highs on Thursday on the back of a strong performance in the tech sector. However, the optimism entering the New Year seems to be fading amid geopolitical tensions.
Energy stocks were the lone winner on Friday. Devon Energy and Marathon Oil rose more than 3% each while Occidental Petroleum jumped traded more than 2% higher.
The U.S. announced late Thursday that it had killed Iran’s top commander General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in an air strike. Soleimani had been a key figure in Iranian politics and his death has raised concerns over a potential retaliation from the Iranian forces.
Meanwhile, in terms of data, there will be Institute of Supply Management manufacturing and construction spending numbers at 10 a.m. ET.
Investors will also monitor the release of the latest Fed meeting minutes due at 2 p.m. ET. There will also be a number of Fed speeches throughout the day.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dipped 0.3%, Friday, while Japanese markets remained shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices gained $2.29 to $63.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rocketed $17.00 to $1,545.10 U.S. an ounce.
