Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged up on Friday with higher oil prices providing support, while investors kept a wary eye on possible economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The TSX Composite Index stepped back 11.68 points from Wednesday’s all-time high to conclude Thursday at 17,821.17
The Canadian dollar added 0.09 cents early Friday at 75.46 cents U.S.
March futures up 0.2% early Friday.
Markets are to be shuttered Monday for Family Day.
Canopy Growth said on Friday it will focus on reducing costs as the pot producer struggles with a slump in weed prices from oversupply and higher expenses that led to a bigger adjusted loss in the quarter.
Telus Corp will soon begin rolling out its 5G network and its initial module will be with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s equipment, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Doug French said on Thursday.
CannTrust Holdings on Thursday named Greg Guyatt as chief executive officer, months after it fired Peter Aceto following a Health Canada finding that the marijuana producer grew cannabis in unlicensed rooms.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Aurora Cannabis to $2.25 from $3
CIBC raised the rating on Lundin Gold to outperformer from neutral
National Bank of Canada ups target price on Canadian Tire Corporation to $178.00 from $174.00
On the economic beat, the Canadian Real Estate Association was due to release home sales figures for January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 1.39 points Wednesday to 571.73.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Friday as Nvidia led a number of companies in reporting better-than-expected earnings while investors wrapped up another solid week of gains.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials progressed 44 points, or 0.2%, early Friday to 29,471.
Futures for the S&P 500 moved up 7.75 points, or 0.2%, at 3,385.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite acquired 34 points, on 0.4%, to 9,647.
Wall Street is headed for strong weekly gains even as investors grapple with a rising number of reported coronavirus cases. The S&P 500 and Dow are each up more than 1% for the week through Thursday’s close. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has risen 2%.
Markets are to be shuttered on Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday.
Nvidia shares rose more than 6% in the pre-market after its quarterly results beat analyst expectations. Expedia got an 11.8% boost from its earnings while Roku hiked 7.8% and Newell Brands 3%.
More than 77% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings thus far, with roughly 72% of them beating analyst expectations.
China’s National Health Commission on Friday reported an additional 121 deaths nationwide, with 5,090 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
The flu-like virus was found to have killed a total of 1,380 people in mainland China as of Thursday evening after the health commission said it had removed 108 deaths from the total figure due to a double-count in Hubei province — the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak.
It is the second day in a row that the province’s data changes have caused significant changes to a nationwide figure, fueling doubts many have about their accuracy.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index moved upward 0.3%,
Oil prices gained 75 cents to $52.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid 30 cents to $1,578.50 U.S. an ounce.