The Toronto stock market looked set for a lower open Friday amid soft commodity prices and an earnings disappointment from U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase.
The TSX was on track to end the week positive as weak Chinese trade data raised hopes that banking officials in that country are set to relax lending requirements in order to encourage growth, which sent copper prices surging more than 6% and resource stocks higher.
China is the world's biggest consumer of the metal, which is viewed as an economic bellwether as it is used in so many businesses.
The Canadian dollar traded at 98.19 U.S. cents, roughly unchanged from late Thursday.
U.S. stock futures turned negative after JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported a lower fourth-quarter profit. Net income was $3.72 billion U.S., compared with $4.83 billion a year earlier.
Dow futures were down 10 points, or 0.1%, at 12,403, while S&P 500 futures inched 3.7 points lower, or 0.3%, to 1,288. Nasdaq futures faded 0.5 points to 2,378.
Stocks rallied across the world as investors ignored Friday the 13th, and that other recurrent cause of nerves, the European debt crisis. Instead, they focused on a second successful Italian bond auction, which indicated the European Central Bank's decision to flood financial institutions with cheap money was working.
Banks led the way higher. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, France's CAC 40 gained 1.2% and Germany's DAX rose 0.6%.
Italy’s three-year debt costs fell below 5% for the first time since September. Investors sought an interest rate of 4.83% to lend three-year money, down from an average rate of 5.62% in the previous auction and far lower than 7.89% in November.
The foreign exchange market appeared more skeptical. The euro dipped to $1.2788 U.S. after the auction, having climbed as high as $1.2879 U.S.
Japan's Nikkei closed 1.4% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.6%.
Three-month copper rose 1% at $8,092 U.S. a tonne.
Gold fell $8 to $1,639.70 U.S. an ounce.
Crude oil was slightly lower at $98.92 U.S. a barrel.
