Bay Street Likely To Open On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares may open on a somewhat subdued note on Friday with investors reacting to retail sales data, and looking to take some profits following recent gains.

On the economic front, retail sales in Canada increased 1% in August over the previous mnth, according to preliminary data. Retail sales in Canada increased 4% in July over the same month in the previous year.

Retail sales dropped by 0.8% in August, final data from Statistics Canada showed.

The Canadian market posted fresh record highs on Thursday as markets assessed the implications of interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index hit a new high of 29,504.21 an hour past noon before finally settling at 29,453.53, up by 131.87 points or 0.45%.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite Wall Street's main indexes reaching new record highs overnight following the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut in nine months.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.3% after a choppy session ahead of a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for later in the day to finalize terms of a deal over TikTok's U.S. operations.

Japanese markets ended lower as the Bank of Japan's hawkish tilt lifted the yen.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance with investors assessing recent central bank moves, and looking for directional clues.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.67 or 1.05% at $62.90 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $12.70 or 0.34% at $3,691.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $0.402 or 0.95% at $42.520 an ounce.