Canada’s main stock index were higher on Friday, after stronger-than-expected quarterly GDP data
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The S&P/TSX Composite index 157 or 0.5% at 31,354.17.On Thursday, the index ticked up by 0.1% to 31,196.71, exceeding an all-time closing high logged in the preceding session. Canadian economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.6% in the third quarter as crude oil exports and government spending boosted economic activity even as business investments and household consumption disappointed. Economists had forecast growth of 0.5%.
It was the fifth straight day of gains for the average, although were lighter than usual because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
Analysts are now gearing up for the release of Canada’s third-quarter gross domestic product data, with forecasts calling for expansion at an annualized rate of 0.5%, according to estimates cited by Reuters.
This would mean that Canada’s economy narrowly avoided second straight quarterly contraction. The Bank of Canada has been keeping close tabs on the trajectory of the economy as it prepares to roll out another interest rate decision in December.
The BoC, which slashed its benchmark rate to a three-year low of 2.25% last month, is reportedly widely tipped to leave borrowing costs on hold at the upcoming meeti.
Tech outage disrupts U.S. stock futures
Wall Street futures trading was halted by an outage on exchange operator CME Group’s platform. U.S. stock markets opened higher on Friday, following an outage on exchange operator CME Group’s platforms which halted futures contract trading for hours. as investors returned for a session on Friday shortened by the Thanksgiving holiday.
