Stocks Inch Lower on Economic Data

Futures for Canada's main stock index fell on Friday as investors avoided big bets ahead of crucial domestic and U.S. economic data.The TSX Composite Index fell 200.12 points to close Thursday at 25,309.08 March futures lost 0.1% Friday. The Canadian dollar backpedaled 0.12 cents to 69.63 cents U.S. early Thursday. In corporate news, Laurentian Bank reported first-quarter profit above analysts' estimates.On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada says this country’s GDP increased 0.6% in the fourth quarter, after rising 0.5% in the third quarter. Growth in the fourth quarter was driven by higher household final consumption expenditures and increased exports and business investment.ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange hurtled lower 14.02 points, or 2.2%, Thursday to 615.84ON WALLSTREET Stock futures rose slightly on Friday as investors looked to the end of a losing week and month and awaited key inflation data.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials popped 197 points, or 0.5%, to 43,494Futures for the S&P 500 index gathered 10.75 points, or 0.2%, to 5,887.Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 10.75 points, or 0.1%, to 21,366.30. The S&P 500 has slid 2.5% week to date, while the Dow has seen more modest losses with a retreat of just 0.4%. Both are down nearly 3% on the month.Traders have been rattled by President Donald Trump’s promise of tariffs and recent economic reports flashing warning signs. A decline of 8.5% in megacap tech titan Nvidia in Thursday’s session the back of earnings threw more cold water on investor sentiment.The personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric — is due for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the measure of price changes for consumers to rise 0.3% from December for an annualized gain of 2.5%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE is expected to increase by 0.3% month over month and 2.6% year over year.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.9%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng collapsed 3.3%. Oil prices fell 89 cents to $69.46 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices dwindled $22.30 to $2,873.600 U.S. an ounce.