Futures Gain to End Week, Month, Quarter

Futures for Canada's main stock index moved higher on Friday, supported by a rise in prices of most commodities, while investors remained cautious ahead of the release of domestic GDP data and a key U.S. inflation report.

The TSX Composite Index perked 154.76 points to end Thursday at 19,590.74.

September futures hiked 0.5% Friday.

The Canadian dollar raced higher 0.34 cents to 74.46 cents U.S.

The benchmark index is set to log its first quarterly decline in a year. It is expected to clock its worst month since May as rising yields, sticky inflation, and continued economic uncertainty dampened investor sentiment.

On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported July GDP numbers were essentially unchanged, as services-producing industries edged up 0.1%, while goods-producing industries contracted 0.3%.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 6.89 points, or 1.3%, Thursday to 556.90.

ON WALLSTREET

Stock futures rose Friday as investors prepared to end a difficult September.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials sprinted 132 points, or 0.4%, to 34,024.

Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 16 points, or 0.4%, at 4,353.50.

Futures for the NASDAQ hiked 75.75 points, or 0.5%, to 14,935.50.

Nike shares popped more than 9% in the pre-market after the apparel giant reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.

Wall Street is coming off a winning session, as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield backed off from a fresh 15-year high. Those gains, however, did little to mitigate equities’ sharp losses for the month and the quarter.

The S&P 500 is set to finish the month down 4.6% and the quarter lower by 3.4%. The NASDAQ Composite is off nearly 6% in September, and down 4.3% for the quarter. This month will be the worst in 2023 for both indexes. The Dow is on track for a 3% decline this month and a 2.2% fall for the quarter.

The major averages are also on pace for modest losses on the week: The S&P 500 is off about 0.5%, while the Dow is down 0.9%. The NASDAQ is off 0.1%.

Investors are now turning their attention to the latest personal consumption expenditures price index reading due Friday. The PCE reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric. Economists expect that the core PCE advanced 3.9% year over year in August and gained 0.2% monthly, according to Dow Jones.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng popped 2.5%

Oil prices jumped $1.19 to $92.90 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices brightened $6.50 to $1,885.10 U.S. an ounce.

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