Baystreet.ca - Futures tied to Canada's main stock index nudged up on Friday, supported by precious metal prices, while cautious investors awaited domestic and U.S. economic data due later in the day.
The TSX leaped 354.22 points, or 1.4%, to close Thursday at 25,390.68, posting its biggest gain since Aug. 8, after the Canadian government proposed $6.3 billion in new spending measures to stimulate the economy.
Toronto's benchmark index was also close to registering its third straight weekly gain.
December futures gained 0.1% Friday.
The Canadian dollar stepped back 0.02 cents to 71.49 cents U.S.
In corporate news, convenience stores operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is not considering a hostile takeover bid for Japanese retail company Seven & i, Nikkei business daily reported.
In news economic, Statistics Canada reported its new housing price index fell 0.4% in October, the largest monthly decline since April 2009. However, the picture was mixed across the country, as prices were down in 9 out of 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, but unchanged in 11 CMAs and up in the remaining seven.
Retail sales increased 0.4% to $66.9 billion in September. Sales were up in six of nine subsectors and were led by increases at food and beverage retailers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.86 points Thursday to 599.11.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 futures were near flat on Friday, but the major U.S. averages remained on pace to post weekly gains.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 49 points, or 0.1%, to 44,038.
Futures for the S&P 500 took on 3.25 points to 5,967.25
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index sank 33 points, or 0.2%, to 20,796.50.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the buzzy artificial intelligence stock that reported earnings on Wednesday, fell 0.5% in the premarket. Meta (NASDAQ:META) Platforms and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were also lower.
Those moves come after a positive day on Wall Street. The Dow rose more than 400 points, while the S&P 500 added 0.5%. On the other hand, the NASDAQ Composite ticked only marginally higher.
All three major averages are on track for a positive week, led by the NASDAQ Composite’s gain of 1.56%. That’s a change from last week, when Wall Street’s postelection rally stalled.
Earnings reports were driving market action in extended trading. Shares of Gap jumped 15% after the company beat earnings estimates and hiked its full-year sales guidance. However, Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) slid more than 3% even after its quarterly report exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines.
On Friday, investors will get a look at preliminary purchasing managers index reports for November, as well as an updated consumer sentiment reading.
Investors will also keep an eye on bitcoin, which is trading just under the long-awaited milestone of $100,000.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 hurtled higher 0.7% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.9%.
Oil prices dipped 57 cents to $69.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved forward $26.40 to $2,701.30 U.S. an ounce.