Bay Street Likely To Open On Negative Note

(RTTNews) - Lower Canadian and U.S. futures, weak crude oil prices and weakness in European markets point to a negative start for the Canadian market on Friday.

Data on Canadian Producer and Raw Materials prices for the month of July are due at 8:30 AM ET. The producer price data is expected to provide clues about the outlook for interest rates in Canada.

Industrial producer prices in Canada slid by 0.6% over a month in June, after the revised 0.6% decline May. Year-on-year, producer prices slumped 5.5% in June, easing from the downwardly revised 5.7% plunge a month earlier.

Raw materials prices index declined by 1.5% on a monthly basis in June following a revised 5% drop in May. On yearly basis, raw materials prices plunged 19.7% in June.

The Canadian market ended moderatly lower on Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates and economic growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 86.84 points or 0.44% at 19,812.23, a six-week closing low.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday amid lingering worries about the Chinese economy and higher interest rates.

The dollar and Treasury yields fell slightly from recent highs, helping limit regional losses to some extent.

European stocks are down firmly in negative territory amid renewed concerns about China's slowing growth and the prospect of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.62 or 0.77% at $79.77 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $7.80 or 0.41% at $1,923.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.100 or 0.44% at $22.815 an ounce.