Canadian stocks are poised for a lower open Friday as energy prices fell amid fears over demand growth after China reported poor manufacturing data. Also, lingering concerns over the euro zone debt situation might weigh on trader sentiment.
Meanwhile, economic data from south of the border revealed that job growth in the U.S. came in at an anemic rate in May.
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a much lower open.
On Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 79.99 points or 0.70 percent to 11,513.21.
The price of crude oil dipped to a fresh 7-month low Friday morning amid a generally steady U.S. dollar and on weak manufacturing data from China, the second largest oil consuming nation. Overnight data from China revealed the official China purchasing managers index fell to 50.4 from 53.3 in April and lower than economists' expectations for a reading of 51.5. Crude for July lost $3.59 to $82.94 a barrel.
The price of gold was moving higher Friday morning amid non-farm payroll report. Gold for August added $15.10 to $1,579.30 an ounce
In corporate news from Canada, junior oil and natural gas exploration company Cequence Energy (CQE.TO) said it would acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Open Range Energy Corp. (ONR.TO) in exchange of 1.065 of its shares for each Open Range common share. The aggregate value of about C$103 million translates into an offer price of C$1.37 per Open Range share, as against the latest closing price of C$1.03 per share.
Software services provider Futura Loyalty Group Inc. (FUT.V) reported that its net loss for the quarter widened to $1.0 million from $265,000 in the same period last year.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the same pace as in the previous quarter. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry edged up 0.1 percent in March. Business investment contributed the most to first-quarter GDP growth, with final domestic demand growing 0.3 percent.
From the U.S., a report from the Labor Department revealed that the conomy added a net of just 69,000 new jobs in May, far lower than the 150,000 expected by most economists. Furthermore, the already week job creation numbers posted for April were revised down sharply to show a gain of just 77,000 positions, 38,000 fewer than the 115,000 initially reported. At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2 percent in May from the 8.1 percent reported in April, a disappointing figure to economists who had predicted that the rate would hold level.
Meanwhile, data from the Commerce Department revealed that personal income edged up by 0.2 percent in April following a 0.4 percent increase in March. Economists had expected income to increase by about 0.3 percent. A;so, the report said personal spending rose by 0.3 percent in April after climbing by 0.2 percent in March. The increase matched the expectations of economists.
Elsewhere, euro zone manufacturing activity deteriorated at the strongest pace in nearly three years in May, detailed results of a survey conducted by Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index, a performance indicator for the manufacturing sector, fell to 45.1 in May from 45.9 in April. This was marginally above the flash estimate of 45. The PMI has signaled contraction in each of the past ten months.
A report from the Eurostat revealed that the euro zone jobless rate came in at 11 percent in April, the same rate as seen in March and matching economists' expectations. About 17.4 million were unemployed in the euro area. Compared with March, the number of persons unemployed increased by 110,000 in April.
by RTT Staff Writer
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