Wall Street futures pointed to a stronger opening Friday after concerns over the implications of the Federal Reserve’s action to pump another US$1 trillion into the financial system weighed on U.S. stocks yesterday.

Here at home, retail sales rose a stronger-than-expected 1.9% in January after plunging 5.2% in December, Statistics Canada said.

Economists had forecast a 0.7% rise from the previous month.

Sales rose in five of the eight retail sectors, led by a 3.8% increase in the automotive sector. In volume terms, retail sales were up 1.8%.

Separately, StatsCan said the number of new motor vehicles sold rose 5.5% to 119,231 units in January.

Monthly sales have averaged close to 120,000 units since November 2008, whereas the average over the last three years was about 140,000 units.

The Canadian dollar opened at US80.61¢, down 0.19 of a cent from Thursday’s close.

In corporate news, Citigroup said CFO Gary Crittenden will be chairman of the entity created for noncore assets. Global banking chief Edward Kelly will succeed him as CFO.

In earnings news, Xerox is cut its forecast for first-quarter profit nearly 80% on restructuring costs and a slowdown in technology spending.

In commodities news, oil prices fell 52¢ to US$51.09 a barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold dipped slightly in early trading Friday but remained near US$950 an ounce.

Overseas, the Japanese market was closed, and other Asian markets were mixed, as the Hang Seng fell 2.3% while the Shanghai Composite added 0.7%.

In afternoon trading, the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.2%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.4%.

Toronto stocks ended higher for an eighth straight session as rising commodity prices boosted the energy and materials issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 61.39 points, or 0.71%, to 8,690.49, off its session high. It was the eighth straight higher close for benchmark index. The index is now up 16% from the five-year low hit two weeks ago.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index soared 37.86 points, or 4.37%, to close at 903.57.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell on concerns over the implications of the Federal Reserves action to pump another US$1 trillion into the financial system and a plan to expand its consumer and small business lending program.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 85.78 points, or 1.15%, to 7,400.80. The S&P 500 dropped 10.31 points, or 1.30%, to 784.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slid 7.74 points, or 0.52%, to 1,483.48.

IE