Baystreet.ca - Futures tied to Canada's main stock index fell on Friday amid investor concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve's stance on keeping interest rates elevated for longer.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stumbled 263.44 points, or 1.2%, to conclude Thursday at 21,698.11.
The Canadian dollar backed off 0.05 cents to 72.71 cents U.S. Futures slumped 0.7% Friday. In corporate news, brokerage Evercore ISI upgraded the rating on e-commerce company Shopify (TSX:SHOP) to "outperform" from "in line". National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) raised its rating on air cargo service provider Cargojet (TSX:CJT) to "outperform" from "sector perform."
On the macroeconomic calendar, April wholesale trade Wholesale sales grew 2.4% to $83.3 billion in April, while manufacturing sales increased 1.1% in April, mainly due to higher sales of transportation equipment as well as primary metals. Production of aerospace products and parts declined the most.Motor vehicles sales in this country totaled 175,100 in April, compared to 171,600 the month before.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 8.05 points, or 1.4%, Thursday to 575.20.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures fell on Friday, following a fresh record close for the S&P 500.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 290 points, or 0.7%, to 38,788. Futures for the S&P 500 dwindled 26 points, or 0.5%, at 5,477.56.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite faltered 54 points, or 0.3%, to 19,809.75. Stocks are coming off a winning session that saw the S&P 500 notch its fourth straight record close. The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite also ended the session at a record.
Hopes for a continued cooling of inflation have boosted equities this week. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are on pace to end the week higher. The S&P 500 has climbed 1.6%, while the NASDAQ has added 3.1%. The 30-stock Dow is the lone laggard with a 0.4% decline.
Wholesale inflation unexpectedly ticked down by 0.2% last month, while economists polled by Dow Jones expected the gauge to increase by 0.1%. That follows a consumer price index reading that was flat on a monthly basis in May.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 captured 0.2% Friday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.9%. Oil prices grew 43 cents to $78.05 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices jumped $30.50 to $2,321.96 U.S. an ounce.