Equities in Canada’s main stock index were poised to extend prior session’s gains on Friday, aided by stronger crude prices, while investors viewed employment figures for cues on domestic economic growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 88.47 points Thursday to 21,581.70.
Futures for the market vaulted 0.8% early Friday.
The Canadian dollar dished off 0.08 cents to 78.32 cents U.S.
ATB Capital Markets raised the target price on Docebo to $115.00 from $110.00
CIBC raised the target price on Granite REIT to $110.00 from $109.00
RBC cut the rating on KP Tissue to sector perform from outperform.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says the economy created 337,000 jobs in February, thus shrinking the unemployment rate a full percentage point to 5.5%.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Canada is studying ways to increase pipeline utilization to boost crude exports as Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian oil.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange pointed upwards 4.12 points to 855.44.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose ahead of Friday’s session following a report that ceasefire talks could be gaining traction between Russia and Ukraine.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials leaped 351 points, or 1.1%, to 33,395.
Futures for the S&P 500 regained 52 points, or 1.2%, to 4,300
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index rebounded 210 points, or 1.6%, to 13,793.25.
Week to date, the Dow is down 1.3% and headed for its fifth negative week in a row since May 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P is down 1.6% and the NASDAQ is off 1.4% this week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “certain positive shifts” have occurred in the talks.
Meantime, tensions continued to heat up on the Ukraine situation, with U.S. President Joe Biden expected to call for an end to Russia’s status as a preferred trade partner, according to a Bloomberg News report. Also, Congress passed a funding bill that includes $14 billion of Ukraine aid.
Shares of Rivian slipped more than 11% in extended trading after missing estimates for the fourth quarter on the top and bottom lines, while DocuSign sank 18% after issuing weak guidance for the first quarter and fiscal year.
The main event on the economic calendar Friday is the preliminary reading for the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey, expected to nudge higher to a reading of 62 from 61.7 in February.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index lost 2.1% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 1.6%.