Futures for Canada’s main stock index inched lower on Friday, tracking downbeat mood on Wall Street following the latest batch of tech earnings, while investors awaited domestic growth data due later in the day.
The S&P/TSX Composite finished Thursday with a gain of 376.83 points, or 1.8%, to 21,121.06
June futures capsized 0.2% on Friday.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.34 cents to 78.43 cents U.S.
Magna International on Friday lowered its annual profit forecast, as a global semiconductor shortage and rising raw material prices pressure vehicle production.
National Bank of Canada raised the rating on Alamos Gold to outperform from sector perform.
RBC raised the target price on Canadian Utilities to $41.00 from $38.00
CIBC raised the target price on Toromont Industries to $125.00 from $123.00
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Gross Domestic Product grew 1.1% in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 9.7 points, or 1.2%, Thursday to 818.43.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures fell Friday morning to wrap up April trading, with the NASDAQ Composite on pace for the worst month since March 2020.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials skidded 144 points, or 0.4%, to 33,684.
Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 41.5 points, or 1%, to 4,242.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index faded 178.5 points, or 1.4%, to 13,276.25.
Stocks were set to finish the month lower as investors have contended with a slew of headwinds, from the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening, rising rates, hot inflation, COVID case spikes in China and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Dow is off by 2.2% for the month and the S&P 500 is down 5.4%. The NASDAQ is down 9.5%, its worst monthly performance since the onset of the COVID pandemic.
First-quarter earnings reports could not turn around markets this month. About 80% of S&P 500 companies have beat quarterly earnings expectations, with about half of the index’s members having reported results so far.
Technology stocks have been hard hit in April amid high interest rates that hurt their valuation, and supply chain issues stemming from COVID and the war in Ukraine.
Investor focus Friday was on Amazon, whose shares tumbled around 9% in extended trading after reporting Thursday evening a surprise loss thanks to its investment in Rivian and issued weak revenue guidance for the second quarter.
Apple shares were also under pressure, falling more than 1% after CFO Luca Maestri said supply chain constraints could hinder fiscal third-quarter revenue. That comment overshadowed a a big earnings beat for the previous quarter.
Intel also reported earnings Thursday evening. The stock fell more than 4% in early morning trading after the company issued weak guidance for its fiscal second quarter. Shares of Robinhood dropped more than 9% premarket, after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss, shrinking revenue and a decrease in monthly active users.
On the economic data front, investors will look for fresh data on personal consumption expenditures (PCE) out Friday. Core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index is also due out at 10 a.m. ET.
In Asia, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index shot ahead 4%. Markets in Japan were shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices added 91 cents to $106.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $28.40 to $1,895.40 U.S.