FX.co ★ Bay Street May Open Higher On Firm Metal Prices; GDP Data In Focus

Canadian equities are anticipated to open higher on Friday, buoyed by strong performances in the materials sector due to elevated gold and silver prices. With the U.S. market expected to close early, trading volume on Bay Street may remain subdued for the second consecutive day, following Wall Street's closure for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The release of Canada's GDP data for the third quarter is scheduled for 8:30 AM ET. The Canadian economy experienced a growth of 0.5% in the second quarter, following a 0.4% increase in the first quarter. On an annualized basis, the GDP expanded by 2.1% in the second quarter, marking the highest growth rate since the first quarter of 2023. The economy showed an upwardly revised growth of 1.8% in the first quarter of 2024.

According to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, small business sentiment in Canada rose to 59.70 points in November from October's 55.80. Historically, small business sentiment in Canada hit an all-time high of 74.07 points in April 2002 and a record low of 30.84 points in March 2020.

The Canadian market reached a new record high on Thursday, with energy stocks playing a vital role in the market's advancement. However, trading volumes were limited due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index achieved a fresh peak, reaching 25,593.47, and closed up by 55.22 points or 0.22% to end at 25,543.52.

Asian markets experienced mixed outcomes on Friday. A stronger yen, driven by speculations regarding an interest rate hike from the Bank of Japan, pressured Japanese markets, whereas Chinese equities registered strong gains amid stimulus forecasts ahead of a significant economic meeting next month. The yen briefly crossed the key threshold of 150 against the dollar after core inflation in Tokyo exceeded the 2 percent target, heightening expectations of an imminent rate hike. Contrarily, Japan's industrial production and retail sales figures were below expectations for November. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.93 percent to 3,326.46 amid anticipation that Beijing will introduce additional economic support during a critical policy meeting in December.

European stocks are trading in negative territory, influenced by regional economic data, concerns over trade tariffs, and recent political instability in France. The Eurozone's annual inflation rate accelerated for the second consecutive month to 2.3% in November 2024 from 2% in October, in line with market expectations. Preliminary data released earlier indicates that France's harmonized inflation rate increased to 1.7% in November from October's 1.6%, consistent with expectations yet still below the European Central Bank's target of 2 percent. In addition, official figures revealed that German retail sales dropped more than anticipated in October, declining by 1.5% month-on-month.

In commodities markets, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures decreased by $0.11 or 0.16% to $68.61 per barrel. Gold futures are climbing, up by $19.80 or 0.75% to $2,684.60 an ounce, while silver futures rose $0.654 or 2.14% to $31.210 an ounce.