Futures for Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, tracking upward trend in gold prices, while investors awaited a crucial inflation report from the U.S. to assess the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.
The TSX Composite climbed 75.76 points to conclude Thursday at 21,101.54.
March futures grabbed 0.2% Friday.
The Canadian dollar bounced 0.22 cents higher to 74.42 cents U.S.
Enerplus Corp announced on Thursday that it was expecting a hit to its first-quarter production numbers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was unchanged Thursday at 550.17.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures fell Friday as traders weighed a slate of mostly disappointing quarterly reports, including one that sent chipmaker Intel down sharply.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials index dipped 27 points, or 0.1%, to 38,183.
Futures for the S&P 500 sagged 2.5 points, or 0.1%, at 4,920.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ fell 53 points, or 0.3%, to 17,581.50.
Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite have climbed for the past six sessions. The benchmark S&P 500 has closed at a record high for five straight trading days, the longest streak of its kind since November 2021.
The major averages are also tracking for a winning week. The S&P 500 is up 1.1%, while the Dow has added 0.5%. The NASDAQ is the outperformer of the three, pacing for a 1.3% jump.
Chip maker Intel dropped nearly 11% in the pre-market on the heels of disappointing fiscal first-quarter guidance. Semiconductor stock KLA Corp slid more than 3% after the company posted light revenue and earning per share guidance for its fiscal third quarter. Visa shares shed more than 2% after the credit card company said it’s seeing slowing U.S. volumes.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 skidded 1.3% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 1.6%.
Oil prices sank 85 cents to $76.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $5.10 to $2,022.90 U.S. an ounce.
