Futures for stock markets here in Canada edged higher on Friday, supported by firm oil prices as uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz persisted ahead of U.S.-Iran peace talks.
The TSX Composite Index flopped 142.86 points Thursday to 33,477.71
June futures hiked 0.2% Friday.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.06 cents to 72.35 cents U.S.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported Friday that employment gained only 14,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 12.81 points, or 1.3%, Thursday to 995.39.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures were little changed on Friday as traders kept an eye on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tailed off 29 points, or 0.1%, to 48,387.
Futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.5 points to 6,863.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ gathered 18 points, or 0.1%. to 25,269.50.
The major averages are on pace for solid weekly gains. The S&P 500 has jumped nearly 3.7% through Thursday’s close, tracking for its best week since November. The Dow has gained 3.6% week to date, while the NASDAQ is on pace to rise 4.3%.
ServiceNow fell 1.5% after a downgrade from UBS from buy to neutral. UBS previously said ServiceNow was relatively better positioned to adapt to the AI era than other software companies but said its confidence in that view has weakened.
Cybersecurity stocks Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both rebounded more than 2%.on Friday after a major selloff on Thursday after faith in a partnership between these companies and AI giant Anthropic around its new Claude Mythos model faded.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned that Iran should not charge fees to oil tankers that are traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, writing in a post on Truth Social: “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”
Oil prices came off their highs of the day and the S&P 500 rose after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country had agreed to negotiate with Lebanon “as soon as possible.”
Tehran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf cited Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon as a violation of the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
On the economic front, traders will watch for March’s consumer price index reading. Economists polled by Dow Jones see a month over month increase of 0.9% and a 3.3% gain over the prior 12 months. Durable goods and factory orders are also due out as is the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer survey.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 leaped 1.8% Friday, while in Hong Kong, Hang Seng improved 0.6%
Oil prices gained 17 cents to $98.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $26.70 to $4,791.30 U.S an ounce.
