Bay Street Likely To Open On Weak Note As Commodity Prices Tumble

(RTTNews) - Canadian stock may open on a negative note Friday morning with falling precious metals and oil prices set to trigger a sell-off in resources stocks.

Investors will also be reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he is nominating Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh is seen as a bit hawkish on inflation with historical opposition to quantitative easing, suggesting a stronger dollar environment ahead.

Reports about Trump and Senate Democrats striking a tentative agreement to avert a U.S. government shutdown may aid sentiment.

Data from Statistics Canada showed the Canadian GDP expanded by 0.1% from the previous month in December of 2025, according to an advance estimate.

The Canadian market ended weak on Thursday as technology stocks tumbled, tracking the fall in U.S. tech stocks after Microsoft reported slowing cloud computing growth in its fiscal second quarter and provided disappointing third quarter operating margin guidance.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the session with a loss of 159.94 points or 0.48% at 33,016.13.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday as Apple warned of rising memory chip prices and China's state-owned Securities Times warned against speculative trading.

Tariff worries resurfaced after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on all aircraft sold in the United States and also signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a step that raises fresh pressure on Mexico.

The major European markets are up in positive territory today with investors digesting a slew of economic data from the region, and continuing to follow the developments on teh geopolitical front, and news from the U.S., including Trump appointing Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.

Gold futures are down $255.30 or 4.76% at $5,099.50 an ounce, and Silver futures are down $13.904 or 12.2% at $1005.25 an ounce, while Copper futures are down $0.1730 or 2.79% at $6.0305 per pound.