Futures for Canada’s main stock index inched higher on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data due later in the week, while declining commodity prices limited gains.
The TSX eked out a gain of 14.37 points to conclude Friday at 20,578.61. On the week, the index lost 146 points, or 0.7%.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index inched up 0.1% Monday morning.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.09 cents to 74.95 cents U.S.
B2Gold announced the acquisition of Sabina Gold & Silver in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
Software company Dye & Durham Limited is expected to report its fourth-quarter results before markets open.
Exane BNP Paribas downgraded Barrick Gold to “neutral” from “outperform”.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backpedaled 2.99 points Friday to 613.42, for a loss on the week of 6.7 points, or 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were flat Monday, as traders tried to regain their footing following the S&P 500’s and NASDAQ Composite’s worst weekly performances in nearly two months.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials settled 13 points early Monday to 33,882.
Futures for the S&P 500 nosed ahead 5.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,105.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite hiked 53.75points, or 0.4%, to 12,400.
All three major indexes ended the week on a downturn. The Dow ended the week down 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ slid 2.4%, marking their biggest weekly losses since December.
These losses came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that there is still a long way to go in the fight against inflation. Powell also noted that interest rates could rise more than markets anticipate if inflation numbers do not abate, reversing some of the prior market optimism that rate hikes would soon ease.
The final leg of earnings season also continues next week, with Coca-Cola, Marriott, Cisco, Marathon and Paramount set to report.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slid 0.9%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 0.1%.
Oil prices slid 29 cents higher to $79.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices let go of four dollars to $1,870.50 U.S. an ounce.