Bay Street Seen Opening On Cautious Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a mixed note on Friday with investors looking for direction.

Gold prices are down, while oil futures are slightly higher. Markets in Europe are turning in a sluggish performance amid concerns about growth and rising interest rates.

The Canadian market ended notably lower on Thursday, giving back ground following the rebound seen on Wednesday.

After surging by 1.9% in the previous session, the S&P/TSX Composite Index slumped 207.08 points or 1.1% to 18,441.84, as the buying interest generated by the Bank of England's bond market intervention quickly evaporated.

Asian stocks ended lower on Friday, with growing worries about the U.K.'s fiscal policy, Europe's energy crisis and hawkish Fed commentary weighing on the markets.

Chinese manufacturing data proved to be a mixed bag, with the official PMI bouncing back to expansion territory in September, while the Caixin PMI indicated a second straight month of contraction.

European stocks are somewhat subdued in cautious trade a little past noon on Friday. Markets had moved higher earlier in the session, as government bond yields pulled back from recent highs and new data showed the U.K. economy has not yet fallen into a recession.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.24 or 0.3% at $80.99 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $2.80 or 0.17% at $1,671.40 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.238 or 1.27% at $18.950 an ounce.