Futures for Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, tracking higher oil prices, while investors awaited jobs data to gauge the pace of the country's economic recovery.
The TSX Composite skidded 36.52 points, to end Thursday at 20,705.27
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.37 cents Friday to 79.86 cents U.S.
September futures were up 0.2% Friday.
Bausch Health Companies has agreed to pay $300 million to settle an anti-trust lawsuit accusing it of illegally maintaining a monopoly on diabetes drug Glumetza, enabling a nearly 800% price hike in 2015.
Desjardins initiated coverage on Abc Technologies Holdings with a buy rating
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Agnico Eagle Mines to sector perform from outperform.
National Bank of Canada cut the target price on Barrick Gold to $36.00 from $37.00
On the economic sheet, Statistics Canada says the economy created 90,000 jobs in August, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.4 percentage points to 7.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 2.69 points Thursday to 905.20.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a market rebound on Friday, after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial average registered a fourth-straight day of losses on Thursday.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 177 points, or 0.5%, to 34,930.
Futures for the S&P 500 added 20.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,503.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index progressed 76 points, or 0.5%, to 15,626.75.
But stocks linked to the economic recovery bounced Friday with airlines and energy stocks higher in pre-market trading. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines traded in the green. Cyclical plays like Boeing and FedEx were also higher in pre-market trading; Boeing and FedEx added about 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
Wells Fargo shares jumped 2% after the bank said the CFPB consent order related to its 2016 sales practices has ended, removing an overhang on the stock.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow is down 1.4% and on pace for its second negative week in a row. The S&P 500 is off by about 0.9% for the week, while the NASDAQ is 0.8% lower.
Investors will be watching closely a reading of inflation out Friday morning. The producer prices index for August, a measure of wholesale costs for businesses, is expected to increase by 0.6% month-over-month, slowing from a 1% increase previously, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. The more important consumer price index will be released on Tuesday.
September is historically a weak month for stocks and investors have continued to sell stocks consistently after a weak August jobs report a week ago Friday raised questions about the state of economic recovery amid the COVID resurgence.
The central bank kicks off a two-day meeting on Sept. 21, and the Street will be watching for an update on the Fed’s bond-buying program.
On Thursday the European Central Bank left its monetary policy unchanged, but said that it will slow the pace of its asset-purchase program.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index raced higher 1.3% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rebounded 1.9%.
Oil prices popped $1.33 to $69.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on 80 cents to $1,800.80 U.S. a pound.
