Yahoo Finance CANADA STOCKS-Futures down on speculation of March Fed rate hike
March 3 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Friday, with the U.S. dollar holding on to this week's gains on growing speculation that the U.S. Federal reserve would raise interest rate this month.
Traders raised their stakes ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later on Friday that the Fed would raise short-term borrowing costs at its upcoming March meeting.
March futures on the S&P TSX index were down 0.16 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.40 percent at 15,536.65 on Thursday, as gold miners and other resource stocks lost ground along with lower commodity prices, while a major oil producer surged on strong earnings.
Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.04 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.14 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 0.18 percent.
(Morning News Call newsletter http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Morning_News_Call/MNC_US.pdf ; The Day Ahead newsletter http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/The_Day_Ahead/TDA_NAM.pdf) TOP STORIES Canada's economy grew at a faster pace than anticipated in the final quarter of 2016, lifted by consumer spending and a drop in imports, but the strong performance is not expected to prod the central bank to change its cautious stance on interest rates.
Jim Mackey, BlackBerry Ltd's , head of corporate development and strategy, left the technology company in mid-February, he said on Thursday, leaving a leadership gap as it transitions to software from smartphone hardware.
ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Canadian Western Bank : CIBC raises target price to C$32 from C$31 Cascades : National Bank Financial raises target price to C$13.5 from C$12.5 NewCastle Gold : National Bank Financial starts with outperform; C$1.7 target price COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures : $1231.5; -0.03 percent US crude : $52.71; +0.19 percent Brent crude : $55.24; +0.31 percent LME 3-month copper : $5920; -0.22 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON FRIDAY 09:45 Markit Composite Final PMI for Feb: Prior 54.3 09:45 Markit Services PMI Final for Feb: Prior 53.9 10:00 ISM N-Manufacturing PMI for Feb: Expected 56.5; Prior 56.5 10:00 ISM N-Manufacturing Business Activity for Feb: Expected 60.0; Prior 60.3 10:00 ISM N-Manufacturing Employment Index for Feb: Prior 54.7 10:00 ISM N-Manufacturing New Orders Index for Feb: Prior 58.6 10:00 ISM N-Manufacturing Price Paid Index for Feb: Prior 59.0 10:30 ECRI Weekly Index: Prior 144.6 10:30 ECRI weekly annualized: Prior 10.5 pct FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.34) (Reporting by Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
