Bay Street May Open With Positive Bias

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open with a positive bias Friday morning, tracking higher commodity prices. Investors will also be reacting to quarterly earnings updates and the latest batch of economic data.

Uncertainty about fresh tariffs by the U.S. may prompt investors to tread a bit cautiously.

Magna International Inc. (MG.TO) said that its fourth-quarter bottom line totaled $203 million, or $0.71 per share. This compares with $271 million, or $0.94 per share, last year. Magna has declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.485 per share, an increase of 2%.

Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) has projected distributable cash flow (DCF) in a range of $5.50 to $5.90 per share and adjusted EBITDA between $19.4 billion and $20 billion for fiscal 2025.

The Company also reaffirmed its 2023 to 2026 near-term growth outlook of 7 to 9% for adjusted EBITDA growth, 4 to 6% for adjusted earnings per share growth and approximately 3% for DCF per share growth.

MTY Food Group (MTY.TO) reported net loss of $55.3 million, or $2.34 per diluged share in the fourth-quarter, compared with a profit of $16.4 million, or $0.67 per diluted share in the prior year period.

On the economic front, manufacturing sales in Canada rose 0.3% month-over-month in December 2024, slower than initial estimates of 0.6%, and following a revised 0.7% increase in the prior month, data from Statistics Canada showed.

Meanwhile, wholesale sales in Canada fell 0.2% month-over-month in December 2024, matching the 0.2% decline in November.

Car registrations in Canada decreased to 135,511 units in December 2024, down from 161,535 units in the previous month.

The Canadian market closed on a firm note on Thursday, supported by gains in communications, real estate and technology sectors amid slightly easing worries about global trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump refrained from imposing any reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations for now.

Investors largely tracked quarterly earnings news for direction.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled with a gain of 135.40 points or 0.53% at 25,698.51.

Asian stocks closed broadly lower on Friday, Treasury yields dipped, and the dollar stabilized around a near three-week trough as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a delay in implementing reciprocal tariffs until April and TikTok returned on the U.S. app stores of Apple and Google.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance today with investors assessing the impact of U.S. tariffs and trade policies, and continuing to react to earnings updates. Profit taking after recent highs is contributing to some weakness in a few markets.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.58 or 0.81% at $71.87 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $8.00 or 0.28% at $2,953.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $1.414 or 4.32% at $34.130 an ounce.