Futures for Canada’s main stock index surged on Friday, tracking gains in global equities as signs of potential trade talks between the U.S. and China lifted investor mood.
The TSX Composite Index declined 46.13 points to close Thursday at 24,795.55.
June futures were up 0.7% Friday.
The Canadian dollar took on 0.02 cents to 72.36 cents U.S.
Beijing on Friday said it was “evaluating” an offer from Washington to hold talks over U.S. President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on China, signaling that trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies were easing.
But China added that Washington needed to show “sincerity” in negotiations and should be prepared to cancel its unilateral tariffs.
Trump’s wavering tariffs have kept investors on the edge over the last few months, as they upended supply chains and forced some companies to pull earnings forecasts.
In corporate news, Magna International missed first-quarter profit estimates and said that it plans to implement cost-cutting measures to cushion the hit from Trump’s tariffs.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 7.47 points, or 1.1%, to end Thursday at 646.15.
ON WALLSTREET
S&P 500 futures rose early Friday as investors cheered China’s announcement that it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the U.S.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials popped 171 points, or 0.4% to 41,026.
Futures for the much broader index gained 20.5 points, or 0.4%, to 5,643.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite index soared 45.25 points, or 0.2%, to 19,916.
Thus far, all three major averages are on pace for their second winning week in a row. The S&P 500 is on pace to rise 1.4% this week, while the Dow is on track for a 1.6% advance. The NASDAQ is up 1.9% week to date.
Apple slid 3% in premarket trading after posting fiscal second-quarter revenue from its Services division that fell short against Wall Street’s estimates. The iPhone maker also said it expects to add $900 million in costs in the current quarter due to tariffs. Amazon dropped 1.7%
after issuing light guidance and highlighting “tariffs and trade policies” as factors.
The moves come after the major averages rose to kick off May, with the tech sector catching a tailwind after results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft helped revive the artificial intelligence trade.
The 30-stock Dow added 0.2%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.6%. Both indexes posted eight-day win streaks. The NASDAQ jumped 1.5% and wiped out its losses since April 2, the day of President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs announcement.
Nearly two-thirds of the S&P 500 constituents have announced their results, with 76% posting earnings that have surpassed estimates, according to data from FactSet.
Another catalyst awaits traders on Friday morning in the form of April’s jobs report as investors look for further clues on the state of the U.S. economy. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate payrolls grew by 133,000 last month, down sharply from the 228,000 added in March.
They also expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.2%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 zoomed 1% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng hiked 1.7%.
Oil prices slid 54 cents to $58.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rocketed $51.90 to $3,274.10 U.S. an ounce.