Wall Street stock futures pointed lower Friday as investors brace for what is expected to be a weak holiday shopping season. Here at home, Canadian investors will be assessing Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s economic and fiscal update.

U.S. markets were closed Thursday for American Thanksgiving and will close early today at 13:00 ET.

In today’s economic news, Canada’s current account surplus with the rest of the world narrowed in the third quarter of 2008, as exports slowed and earnings on foreign direct investment declined, Statistics Canada reported.

On the financial side of the ledger, cross-border direct investment activity picked up while Canadian foreign portfolio investment eased and non-residents reduced their holdings of Canadian securities.

Separately, StatsCan said industrial product prices for October remained unchanged from September as the strong decline of the Canadian dollar cancelled out the negative effect of falling prices for refined petroleum products.

However, the substantial decrease in prices for mineral fuels was essentially responsible for the 12.5% reduction in raw materials prices, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened down 0.49¢ at US80.74¢.

South of the border, the U.S. shoppers kicked off what is expected to be a weak holiday season.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude fell 44¢ to US$54 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold was up US$2.30 at US$813.60 an ounce on the Nymex,

In India, the Sensex index opened down more than 1% after trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange had been closed Thursday as terrorists ravaged Mumbai, India’s financial capital. But the market benchmark closed with a gain of 66 points or 0.7% to 9,092.72.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.7%, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 2.5%.

In London, the FTSE 100 Index was down 0.3%.

Losses were deeper in Europe, with the German DAX down 1.5% and the French CAC-40 losing 2% after European Union statistics agency Eurostat said unemployment in the 15 countries that share the euro rose to 7.7% in October, the highest level in two years

On Thursday, Toronto stocks posted solid gains on Thursday energy and materials issues advanced.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 110.25 points, or 1.28%, at 8,753.77. It was its fifth straight day of gains.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index climbed 16.84 points, or 2.3%, to 748.23.

In New York, U.S. markets were closed for the American Thanksgiving holiday.

IE