Fubotv earnings beat by $0.10, revenue topped estimates
Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange inched higher on Friday, as investors prepared to parse through fresh domestic labor market figures.
By 06:23 ET (10:23 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had risen by 3 points, or 0.2%.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped by 0.6% on Thursday to end at 27,761.27, slipping down from an intraday all-time peak.
Disappointing earnings reports from Canadian Tire (TSX:CTCa) Corporation and Restaurants Brands dented sentiment, as did weak returns from insurer Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC).
These results presented a more muddled picture of quarterly returns for big-name Canadian firms, particularly after e-commerce group Shopify posted a better-than-anticipated third-quarter revenue forecasts. Shares in Shopify, which had soared earlier in the week on its upbeat outlook, handed back some of those gains.
Investors are now keeping tabs on upcoming Canadian employment data for July, with economists predicting that the country’s jobless rate will accelerate marginally to 7% from 6.9% in the previous month.
U.S. futures point up
U.S. stock index futures edged higher Friday as investors digested Trump’s new selection to temporarily fill a vacancy on the Fed’s Board of Governors and assessed an ebbing stream of corporate earnings.
At 06:37 ET, Dow Jones Futures rose 85 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures gained 17 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 67 points, or 0.3%.
The main averages on Wall Street ended in mixed fashion on Thursday following a choppy session, but are on pace for weekly gains, with the S&P 500 up 1.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average on pace for a 0.9% advance. The NASDAQ Composite is poised for a 2.9% climb.
Fed rate cut, Chair successor in focus
The Trump administration’s tariffs took effect from Thursday, imposing import duties as high as 50% on regional economies.
Several countries have thrashed out trade deals with the U.S., including the European Union, reducing their tariff levels, but investors remained on edge over the economic impact of the duties.
A rise in weekly jobless claims on Thursday added to signs of a further cooling in the labor market, especially after last week’s disappointing jobs report.
These readings have furthered bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on the central bank to cut interest rates, and announced on Thursday that his top economic adviser, Stephen Miran, will be his pick to take an empty governor seat at the Fed, replacing Adriana Kugler abruptly stepped down from the role as a Fed governor last week.
If confirmed by Senate lawmakers, Miran would have the ability to vote on upcoming interest rate decisions. Notably, Miran has been a consistent supporter of Trump, and has particularly argued that sweeping U.S. tariffs will not massively drive up inflation domestically and the costs of the levies will instead fall mostly on overseas suppliers.
Trump has said Miran will serve in the role temporarily, but hinted that it could be extended.
"We will continue to search for a permanent replacement," Trump said in a social media post. Crucially, that person could be the one who eventually replaces Powell after his term at the head of the Fed ends next year.
Solid quarterly earnings
With more than two-thirds of the benchmark S&P 500 having reported their latest quarterly results, the number of those firms whose earnings have topped estimates is one of the highest in recent history, according to analysts at HSBC.
Roughly 80% of reports from constituents in the benchmark index have beat analysts’ profit estimates, with renewed optimism over the applications of artificial intelligence helping paper over concerns over an economic outlook clouded over by sweeping U.S. tariffs.
The S&P 500 is now on track for 10% per-share income growth in the second quarter, almost double initial Wall Street estimates, the HSBC analysts said in a note.
Additionally, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) stock plummeted by over 11% in premarket trading, as analysts flagged that the social media group’s second-quarter sales in the U.S. and Canada trailed its closest rivals.
Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) stock skyrocketed premarket after the travel booking website’s second-quarter earnings and revenue beat expectations.
Block stock rose after the Cash App parent lifted its guidance for full-year gross profit.
Gold futures surge
Spot gold prices moved lower, while gold futures rose, as the spread between the two widened after the U.S. reportedly slapped import tariffs on one-kilo gold bars.
At 06:37 ET, spot gold dropped 0.3% to $3,387.29 an ounce, while COMEX gold futures for December rose 0.6% to $3,474.70/oz.
The U.S. Customs Border Protection agency said one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code that could open it up to duties, the Financial Times reported, citing a ruling letter dated July 31.
The CBP decision largely contrasts earlier expectations that the import of gold bars would be exempt from Trump’s sweeping tariffs. One-kilo bars are the most common form traded on the COMEX, the world’s biggest gold futures market, with a bulk of them coming from Switzerland.
Crude on track for weekly losses
Oil prices rose, but remained on track for weekly losses on concerns U.S. tariffs will hit global economic activity, reducing the demand for crude.
At 06:37 ET, Brent futures gained 0.7% to $66.88 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.7% to $64.32 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were on track for weekly losses of between 3% and 4%, which would be their steepest weekly losses since late-June.
Higher U.S. tariffs against a host of trade partners went into effect on Thursday, and have raised concerns of a long-term hit to global demand.
Oil prices were already reeling from the OPEC+ group’s decision last weekend to fully unwind its largest tranche of output cuts in September, months ahead of target.