Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday as oil prices rose, supported by a fall in Saudi crude exports to the United States in March.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index spiked 85.15 points to conclude Thursday’s trading at 15,433.61. June futures poked higher 0.1% Friday.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents to 74.86 cents U.S. early Friday.
BRP Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, helped by strong demand for its snowmobiles, watercraft and other recreational vehicles.
Uber Canada on Thursday urged the Canadian government to retain a tax advantage available to ride-services companies, a day after the country's Liberal administration proposed removing the measure.
CIBC cut the target price on Detour Gold Corp. to $17.00 from $21.00
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that February’s consumer price index rose 2.0% on a year-over-year basis in February, following a 2.1% gain in January.
Excluding gasoline, the CPI was up 1.3% year over year in February, following a 1.5% increase in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.44 points to 801.36 Thursday.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Friday as traders await a vote for the Republican-led health-care bill.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 41 points, or 0.2%, to 20,629. Futures for the S&P 500 poked up 3.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,343.50. NASDAQ futures added 11.75 points, or 0.2%, to 5,366.25
Among companies with earnings to report, Finish Line reported mixed results, but the stock tumbled more than 10% in the pre-market.
President Donald Trump warned the Republican members of the House that he will leave Obamacare unchanged if they do not approve the bill.
On the data front, durable goods orders rose 1.7% in February. The latest manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index reports are also due at 9:45 am ET.
In Europe, stocks were a tad lower by noon on Friday. In Asia, the CSI 300 perked 0.8% in China, while the Nikkei in Japan closed 0.9% higher.
Oil prices gained 34 cents to $48.04 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices eased $1.70 to $1,245.50 U.S. an ounce.
