Futures on Canada's main stock index were little changed on Friday as investors digested gross domestic product data for July.
The S&P/TSX Composite stayed positive 23.12 points to conclude trading Thursday at 14,754.55, on top of hefty gain Wednesday of more than 170 points. Futures eked up 0.02% as the report was seeing the light of day.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.11 cents at 75.95 cents U.S. early Friday.
Sources said Royal Bank of Canada is cutting 15 investment banking jobs in England amid a slowdown in activity in the region.
Tundra Energy Marketing, a privately held Canadian energy infrastructure company, agreed to buy a regional pipeline system from an affiliate of Enbridge Income Fund for $1.075 billion.
Toronto-Dominion Bank wants to increase its corporate lending in the United States by acquiring loans from other foreign banks retreating from the country, one of its top executives said.
Citigroup raised the rating on Encana Corp to buy
Deutsche Bank raised the target price on Magna International to $57 from $55
Imperial Capital raised the price target on BlackBerry to $8.50 from $7 with an in-line rating
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that gross domestic product grew 0.5% in July, led by higher output in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector. The rise in July followed a 0.6% increase in June, which had essentially offset an equivalent decline in May.
The agency’s industrial product price index declined 0.5% in August, led by lower prices for meat, fish, and dairy products, and energy and petroleum products.
The Raw Materials Price Index fell 0.7%, as a result of lower prices for animals and animal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange settled 2.38 points Thursday at 799.09
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday, as Deutsche Bank concerns pressured global banking stocks and U.S. investors awaited a major inflation indicator.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 10 points, or 0.1%, to 18,087, while futures for the S&P 500 listed lower 0.25 points to 2,148.25. NASDAQ futures dropped two points at 4,842.25
New York-listed shares of Deutsche Bank reached an all-time low on Thursday. On Friday, Europe-listed shares tanked over 8%, hitting a record low, before paring some losses.
McCormick & Company posted strong third-quarter results.
Guggenheim Securities initiated coverage on Amazon and Nike stocks as a buy on Thursday.
Mizuho Securities upgraded its rating on Qualcomm to a buy on the back of media reports of potential talks to buy NXP Semiconductors.
Plus, Key Banc initiated Walmart as a buy with a price target of $90.00
In the U.S., August personal spending and income figures are due, along with the core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) prices.
This is the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure and a crucial determinant in when the central bank opts to hike interest rates again.
Other data due on Friday include the Chicago PMI (purchasing managers' index) survey for September and the final Michigan Sentiment for September at 10 a.m. ET.
Oil prices settled 12 cents to $47.71 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices inched up 70 cents to $1,326.70 U.S. an ounce.
