FX.co ★ Canadian Stocks Likely To Move In Tight Range In Cautious Trade

In the absence of new data from the U.S. and quiet commodities markets, the Canadian shares are likely to stay in a stable range for much of the day this Friday. Early direction might come from the Canadian retail sales data.

The market sentiment is positively influenced by the dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, an unexpected rate cut by the Swiss National Bank, and a recent weak Canadian inflation report.

The retail sales data for Canada in January is expected to be out at 8:30 AM ET. Preliminary estimates predict a 0.4% fall in retail sales month-over-month. December saw a revised increase of 0.9%, an upward readjustment from the initial estimate of 0.7%.

In business news, George Weston Limited has disclosed that it has initiated an automatic share purchase program with a broker to facilitate the repurchase of Weston's common shares. Similarly, Loblaw Companies Limited also declared an automatic share repurchase plan with a broker for the company's common shares.

The Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index almost reached a record high on Thursday, but traders took advantage of the higher levels to profit, resulting in the index ending the day just modestly higher.

Friday saw Asian stocks fluctuate, as investors responded to a rise in Japanese inflation and evaluated possible central bank interest rate changes. The dollar's recovery and mixed corporate earnings also affected market sentiment.

European stocks also demonstrated mixed performance following recent record highs.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures fell marginally by $0.12 or 0.16% to $80.95 a barrel. Gold futures were down $17.60 or 0.81% at $2,167.10 an ounce, while Silver fell by $0.282 or 1.1% to $24.725 an ounce.