Aug 9 (Reuters) – Futures for Canada’s main stock index inched higher on Friday, as economic data and official comments in the United States allayed recession fears, while an uptick in oil and copper prices further boosted gains.
September futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.4% at 6:41 a.m. ET (1041 GMT), mirroring gains in their U.S. counterparts.
A more-than-expected drop in U.S. jobless claims on Thursday suggested that fears of an unraveling labor market were overblown, and rate-cut signals from Federal Reserve policymakers also helped sentiment recover.
Markets have been trying to find their footing after weaker U.S. data last week stoking recessionary fears, coupled with an unwinding of Japan’s yen-funded carry trade battered global markets with a stocks rout on Monday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab ended 1.58% higher on Thursday, in its biggest single-day gain since February 15.
On Friday, oil prices steadied and were on course for a weekly gain as U.S. demand concerns calmed and widening Middle East conflict fears persisted, bringing energy shares into focus.
Miners will once again come under watch as prices of base metals rose, buoyed by gains in the stock markets, while gold prices eased.
On the data front, domestic employment numbers are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, that will shed some light on the state of the Canadian labour market following two rate cuts from the central bank in the last two months.
Among individual stocks, energy transportation company Pembina Pipeline (PPL.TO), opens new tab on Thursday raised its annual forecast for adjusted core profit.
COMMODITIES AT 6:41 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $2,431.7; +0.1%
US crude : $76.47; +0.4%
Brent crude : $79.37; +0.3%
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($1= C$1.3738)
Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore
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