Futures for Canada’s main stock index inched lower on Friday as oil prices fell for a seventh straight session, with investors waiting for June retail sales data.
The TSX/S&P Composite fell 91 points to end the session Thursday at 20,211.11.
The Canadian dollar backed off 0.43 cents to 77.51 cents U.S.
September futures declined 0.2% Friday
Air Canada sees a “strategic advantage” for its cargo business in Canadian hubs like Toronto as shippers seek to bypass logjams at some U.S. gateways.
PI Financial raised the target price on Airboss of America to $56.50 from $55.00
Credit Suisse raised the target price on Hydro One to $33.00 from $32.00
JP Morgan cuts the rating on TC Energy to “neutral” from “overweight”
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported new home prices in Canada (composite of 27 census metropolitan areas) grew at their slowest pace since December 2020.
Elsewhere, retail sales were up 4.2% to $56.2 billion in June. The agency said sales were up in eight out of 11 sub-sectors, led by higher sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange swooned 17.07 points, or 1.9%, Thursday to 860.98.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 futures inched lower on Friday as the markets close out a losing week driven by fears of the Federal Reserve pulling back its stimulus.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials plunged 146 points, or 0.4%, to 34,672.
Futures for the S&P 500 slumped 15.75 points, or 0.4%, to 4,385.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index let go of nine points, or 0.1%, to 14,919.
All three major stock indexes are on track to close the week lower. The S&P 500 and the Dow are both on track to post their worst weekly performances since June, while the NASDAQ is set to see its worst week since May.
The S&P 500 is down 1.4% for the week through Thursday, while the Dow is off 1.8% and the NASDAQ is 1.9% lower.
Tesla shares were higher in pre-market after Elon Musk’s electric car maker had an AI day, where it unveiled a new custom chip and plans to build a humanoid robot. Tesla shares are off 6% this week on concern about slowing growth in one of its key markets China.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dumped 1%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 1.8%, effectively placing the Hong Kong market in Bear territory.
Oil prices shed $1.13 to $62.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $3.20 to $1,786.30 U.S. a pound.