Futures for Canada’s main stock index edged up on Friday, aided by gains in crude oil prices, but tracked its third consecutive week in losses on concerns over rising risks of a global economic downturn.
The S&P/TSX stumbled 221.36 points, or 1.2%, to close Wednesday at 19,035.93.
September futures jumped 0.7% Friday.
BlackBerry topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue on Thursday, powered by growth in its auto products and cybersecurity services segments
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Neighbourly Pharmacy to $27.00 from $28.00
CIBC cut the target price on Onex Corp. to $75.00 from $90.00
RBC initiated coverage on Storagevault Canada with an “outperform” rating and $8.00 price target.
Statistics Canada reported the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—measuring number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer — increased by 126,000 (+0.7%) in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange flopped 11.96 points, or 1.9%, Thursday to 628.94.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures gained Friday as Wall Street looked to grind out a rare positive week in what has been a rough first half of the year.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials raced higher 225 points, or 0.7%, early Friday to 30,902.
Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 30.25 points, or 0.8%, to 3,830.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index hiked 98.5 points, or 0.8%, to 11,836.
All three averages are looking to snap three-week losing streaks.
On the corporate front, shares of FedEx moved higher in extended trading despite a mixed fourth-quarter report after the logistics company delivered an upbeat earnings forecast. Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to release a business updated on Friday morning.
Economic data will be a key focus ahead, as investors try to determine if the U.S. economy is falling into a recession.
New home sales data is due out at 10 a.m. ET and the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for June will follow later in the day.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.2% Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng picked up 2.1%
Oil prices gained $2.23 to $106.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $2.90 to $1,826.90 U.S. an ounce.