Mixed Open Seen For Canadian Shares

(RTTNews) - Bay Street is seen opening on a mixed note Friday morning, reacting to positive developments on Canada-China trade front, and tracking commodity prices.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured an initial trade deal with China, according to which the two nations will cut tariffs on electric vehicles and canola, Carney said. The two nations have also promised to tear down trade barriers and work on new strategic ties.

Gold futures are down $19.90 or 0.43% at $4,603.80 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $3.717 or 3.83% 86.630 an ounce. Copper futures are down $0.1490 or about 2.5% at $5.8425 per pound.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.62 or 1.05% at $59.81 a barrel.

In economic news, data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed housing starts in Canada increased to 282,400 units in December from 254,600 in November.

The Canadian market closed higher on Thursday with investors focusing on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's four-day visit to China.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled at 33,028.92 up by 112.45 points or 0.34%.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite Wall Street snapping a two-day losing streak overnight. Regional chip stocks ended mostly higher on revived AI-driven growth optimism after TSMC posted record quarterly profits of $16 billion.

The major European markets are trading weak today amid renewed concerns about geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty surrounding French budget.