TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar was up half a U.S. cent and stock market indicators were generally positive shortly before unemployment statistics were to be released Friday in Canada and the United States.
The loonie traded at 72.75 cents US, up 0.5 from Thursday's close. Many currencies, including Canada's, have been rising recently as enthusiasm for the U.S. dollar wanes.
The Dow Jones index futures were up a marginal 16 points at 16,344.0, S&P 500 futures advanced 0.75 point to 1,908.50 and the Nasdaq futures gained 3.25 points to 4,159.0, with 30 minutes to go before the data release at 8:30 a.m. ET..
On the commodity markets, the April gold contract rose $1.50 to US$1,159.00 an ounce and the March crude contract was up 24 cents at US$31.96 per barrel
On Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX index climbed 181.48 points to 12,774.50, its second triple-digit increase in as many days. The the Dow Jones industrial average rose 79.92 points to 16,416.58, while the broader S&P 500 gained 2.92 points to 1,915.45 and the Nasdaq closed 5.32 points higher at 4,509.56.
