Investors will be absorbing marginally good news on productivity in Canada and some bad news on retail sales and productivity from south of the border.

Added to the bad news on the American economy is an earning warning from tech giant, Oracle. Wall Street futures are down on the news, pointing to a weak start for equities on Friday

Statistics Canada reported that labour productivity increased 0.1% in the second quarter from the first quarter. This slight improvement continued the lethargic pace of labour productivity growth experienced in the past four quarters.

In the U.S., the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.6% in August, after rising 1.3% in July. If auto prices are excluded, sales advanced a mere 0.7%, after rising only 0.8% in July. Sales missed the economists’ projections, which had called for a 1.6% overall rise and a 0.8% core increase.

The U.S. Labor Department reported wholesale prices rose just 0.4% in August after rising 0.1% in July. When food and energy are excluded, producer prices rose 0.1%, after a rise of 0.2% in July.

Meanwhile, Oracle reported a 28% rise in profit for its first quarter, due to an increase in revenue from software-license updates and product-support services. But the company also said revenue from new software licenses fell 6.8%. Oracle shares have dropped 8% in pre-market trading as a result.

On Thursday, the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, trading was quiet. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 22.28 points, or 1.22%, to 1,846.09. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39.30 points, or 0.42%, to 9,459.76.

Overnight In Asia stocks were mixed, with the Nikkei Average gaining 1.6%l, while the Hang Seng slid due to liquidity concerns.

At midday in Europe, Paris’s CAC40 index is up 0.6%, to 3367. London’s FTSE 100 has gained 25.70 points, or 0.6% to 4267.90. Frankfurt’s DAX is up 0.1% at 3569.

At 09:45 ET, the University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of consumer sentiment for the month of September.