Futures tied to Canada’s main stock index held steady on Friday as investors avoided major bets, awaiting clarity on impending U.S. tariffs and key economic data due later in the day.
The TSX Composite Index did not budge by Thursday’s close, registering at 25,161.06, as an expanding global trade war discouraged investors from making new bets on the market.
June futures were down 0.04% Friday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.06 cents to 69.83 cents U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that he would respond with unspecified trade actions if Trump does impose the tariffs.
The country’s general election, expected to be closely contested, is scheduled for April 28.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada’s reported Gross Domestic Product rose 0.4% in January with increases coming from both goods-producing and services-producing industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 2.36 points Thursday to 640.42.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were flat Friday as investors grappled with ongoing tariff uncertainty and awaited the release of a key inflation measure.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials dipped 41 points, or 0.1%, to 42,561.
Futures for the S&P 500 index faded 9.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,730.
Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ declined 52 points, or 0.3%, to 19,938.25.
Wells Fargo downgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb to an equal weight rating from overweight in a Thursday note.
February’s personal consumption expenditures price index is due at 8:30 a.m. ET and could confirm whether investors should be concerned about sticky inflation, especially after the Federal Reserve recently raised its inflation forecast.
Economists polled by Dow Jones see the headline PCE price index reading rising 0.3% in February and 2.5% from 12 months earlier.
As of Thursday’s close, Wall Street was headed for a second straight week of gains. The Dow is on track for a 0.8% advance week to date. The S&P 500 is up 0.5% for the period, while the NASDAQ Composite is on pace for a 0.1% gain.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index shed 1.8% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gave back 0.7%
Oil prices squeezed up eight cents to $70.00 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $19.10 to $3,110 U.S. an ounce.
Futures Little Changed Ahead of Inflation News