Bay Street May Open Slightly Higher; U.S., Canadian Jobs Data In Focus
(RTTNews) - Higher Canadian and U.S. futures point to a slightly positive start on Bay Street Friday morning. The focus is on the crucial jobs data from Canada as well as the U.S.
Lingering concerns about trade tensions may weigh on sentiment and limit market's upside.
Economists expect U.S. employment to increase by 130,000 jobs in May after an increase of 177,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.2 percent.
The Canadian market ended slightly up on Thursday after spending much of the day's trading session in negative territory amd concerns about the potential impact of Trump administration's tariff moves.
The benchmark S&P/TSX closed up 13.29 points or 0.05% at 26,342.29.
Asian stocks ended mixed in lackluster trading on Friday despite the leaders of the U.S. and China agreeing to further talks aimed at reaching a deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump described a phone call with his Chinese counterpart as "very good" and said it "resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries."
Traders also reacted to an ECB rate cut and braced for a U.S. employment report later in the day for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.
The major European markets are subdued with investors treading cautiously as they await U.S. non-farm payrolls data for the month of May.
In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.12 or 0.2% at $63.25 a barrel.
Gold futures are gaining $6.70 or 0.2% at $3,381.80 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.485 or 1.35% at $36.290 an ounce.
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TSX Down Marginally In Lackluster Trade
Swiss Market Ends On Firm Note
European Stocks Close Mixed After Cautious Session
U.S. Business Inventories Rise In Line With Estimates In June
U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Deteriorates In August
U.S. Industrial Production Pulls Back Slightly In July
