Trump says Iran war "close to over" amid hopes for more negotiations
Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange pointed higher on Friday, as investors eyed a slight recovery in oil prices and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement of an initial trade deal with China.
By 06:45 ET (11:45 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had ticked up by 4 points, or 0.2%.
Oil prices regained some ground after hopes for easing tensions in Iran dented crude in the prior session.
Meanwhile, Carney said that Canada and China have agreed to slash tariffs on electric vehicles and canola, as part of a promise between both countries to forge new strategic ties in the face of a trade dispute with the U.S.
On Thursday, the commodities-heavy S&P/TSX composite index gained 112.45 points to end at 33,028.92, notching a fresh closing record for a second consecutive session.
U.S. futures inch up
U.S. stock index futures rose broadly, boosted by solid quarterly earnings and healthy economic data.
At 07:00 ET, Dow Jones Futures were mostly unchanged, S&P 500 Futures had gained 11 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 125 points, or 0.5%.
The main averages on Wall Street jumped on Thursday, with TSMC’s results fueling a spike in AI-related names like Nvidia, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices, along with European peers such as ASM International and ASML.
The major averages are heading for losses on the week, with the S&P 500 off 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite down 0.6% in the period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.1% week to date.
Tech, bank stocks in spotlight
The tech sector has continued to show strength Friday in the wake of chipmaker TSMC’s record-high fourth-quarter profit.
The company is a key supplier to U.S. tech majors such as Nvidia and Apple, and has benefited greatly from an AI-driven surge in chip demand in recent years.
Shares of TSMC shares ticked higher in Taipei trade on Friday, and its U.S. shares inched up in extended hours trading.
Elsewhere, there are more results due from the banking sector due Friday.
PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), State Street (NYSE:STT) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) are all set to unveil quarterly returns before the opening bell on Wall Street.
Reports from America’s biggest lenders earlier this week underlined how a topsy-turvy 2025 in financial markets aided trading desks.
The bank earnings signaled the start of the fourth quarter earnings season in earnest, with a string of major companies set to report in the coming week. Netflix, 3M Company and U.S. Bancorp are due to report on Tuesday, while Johnson & Johnson will report on Wednesday.
Visa, Intel, Abbott Laboratories, Intuitive Surgical and many more will report later in the week.
Solid economic data
The U.S. economic data slate Friday includes industrial and manufacturing production figures for December, and comes after a series of stronger than expected numbers this week.
On Thursday U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 198,000 last week, below the 215,000 forecast, highlighting continued labor market strength.
The data reinforced market views that the Fed will keep policy rates steady for longer, resulting in traders pushing back expectations for the first rate cut toward mid-year.
Comments from several Federal Reserve officials overnight added to the cautious tone.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Thursday that amid ample evidence of stability in the job market, the central bank should be focused on getting inflation down.
Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid called inflation "too hot", while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that incoming U.S. economic data looks promising.
Crude set for weekly gain
Oil prices rose Friday, bouncing after the previous sessions hefty losses as concerns surrounding an immediate U.S. strike on Iran receded, easing supply risks.
Brent futures gained 1.3% to $64.60 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.4% to $60.04 a barrel.
Both contracts plunged more than 4% in the previous session after President Trump said Tehran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying worries about possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
That said, the crude benchmarks are still set to end the week higher after rising to multi-month highs earlier in the week after protests flared up in Iran.
Gold dips
Gold prices edged down marginally, trading below record highs touched earlier this week, as steady U.S. labor market data dampened expectations of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts, while easing concerns around unrest in Iran reduced safe-haven demand.
Spot gold was last down 0.1% at $4,611.93 an ounce, while U.S. Gold Futures had declined 0.2% to $4,614.74 an ounce.
The yellow metal has retreated from a record high of $4,642.72/oz reached on Wednesday. Despite the modest pullback, bullion was still on track for a weekly gain of about 2%.