Luke KawaThe Globe and Mail
The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the premarket to reflect the latest news developments and market moves. Check back later for updates.
U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open and possible fifth straight day of losses for the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500.
South of the border, the final revision on fourth-quarter GDP will be released, along with the revised University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March and a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen near the end of the trading day.
"There has been plenty of Fed commentary this week and while different members have varying opinions on when to expect lift-off, the data will clearly do the talking," said IG market strategist Stan Shamu.
S&P/TSX 60 futures are also in negative territory, with BlackBerry Ltd. the big earnings report to watch. The former tech powerhouse reported an unexpected profit in the fourth quarter and was cash flow positive, though revenue continued to decline and handset sales were underwhelming. Its U.S. shares are swinging between small gains and losses in the premarket.
West Texas Intermediate futures are well off Thursday's highs but remain above $50 per barrel this morning as the conflict in Yemen escalates. Traders have begun to question, however, whether supply would be affected by these clashes. The weekly Baker Hughes rig count, which to date has not been a portent of changes in production, will be released this afternoon.
Across the pond, Greek politicians will be burning the midnight oil this weekend to scrap together a list of reforms necessary to secure additional funding that is both palatable to its creditors and the general populace. Greece's deadline to submit this list is Monday, and the nation has a large payment to the International Monetary Fund due in early April.
European stocks are advancing, offsetting some of their weekly losses.
In Asia, Japanese retail sales slumped by more than expected in February, while the annual rate of core inflation declined for the seventh consecutive month. The Nikkei snapped its six-week winning streak with a loss of 1 per cent on Friday that left the index down 1.4 per cent on the week.
Here's a look at the latest market numbers and other highlights ahead of the trading day.
Futures:
S&P 500 -0.12 per cent; Dow -0.13 per cent; Nasdaq -0.09 per cent
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.04 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.24 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -0.95 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.25 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.55 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.54 per cent
Stoxx 600 +0.71 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex May) -1.71 per cent at $50.59 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex May) -1.16 per cent at $2.641
Gold (Comex Apr) -0.53 per cent at $1,199.30 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex May) -0.55 per cent at $2.7955 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 80.04 (U.S.), down 0.0007
U.S. dollar index up 0.184 at 97.62
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 1.9929 per cent, up 0.0035
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
The final reading of U.S. gross domestic product showed the economy expanded at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 2.2 per cent quarter-over-quarter, below the consensus estimate for growth of 2.4 per cent.
(10 a.m. ET) University of Michigan final reading on consumer sentiment for March. Forecast is 91.8.
(345 p.m. ET) Fed chair Yellen speaks in San Francisco on monetary policy.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
BlackBerry Ltd. posted an unexpected profit of $0.04 per share for the fourth quarter; analysts were calling for a loss of $0.04. Revenues, however, continued to decline, falling to $660-million. The firm said one of China Mobile's subsidiaries would make BlackBerry's enhanced SIM-based licensing available to its enterprise customers. Shares are swinging between small gains and losses in premarket trading.
Savannna Energy Services Corp. eliminated its quarterly payout of $0.03. Management also indicated that it has reduced non-rig related salaried positions by nearly 40 per cent since the end of 2014 and said it was continuing to evaluated its capital budget as well as possible asset sales.
Allana Potash Corp. announced late Thursday it has entered into a definitive agreement with Israel Chemicals Ltd. under which Israel Chemicals will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Allana that it does not already own for $0.50/share.
BRP Inc. reported a quarterly profit compared with a loss a year earlier. The company's revenue rose 18.3 per cent to $1.07-billion, which was modestly ahead of the Street consensus of $1.03-billion.
Regulatory filings show that Yahoo! Inc. has received approval from its board of directors to repurchase an additional $2-billion in common shares.
GameStop Corp. issued a poor earnings report after the close on Thursday, with both profits and revenues falling short of the Street's estimates. Management also announced uninspiring guidance for the year.
Other Earnings today include: Boyd Group, BRP Inc., Inovalis REIT, Strongco, Accenture Plc, Cara Therapeutics Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., FRED'S Inc., GameStop Corp., Inogen Inc., Oxford Industries, Restoration Hardware, Signet Jewelers, Upland Software, Winnebago.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Cogeco Cable Inc. was upgraded to "hold" from "reduce" at TD Securities.
BCE Inc. was raised to "hold" from "reduce" at TD Securities.
Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at FirstEnergy.
Magellan Aerospace Corp. was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at TD Securities.