Wall Street stock index futures pointed to a weak open Friday after sharp losses yesterday, while Royal Bank of Canada reported a 15% drop in fourth-quarter profit.

RBC reported it earned $1.12 billion in the fourth quarter of the banking year, down from $1.32 billion a year earlier. Revenue sagged 10% to $5.07 billion.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.3% in November as the economy lost 70,600 jobs. It was the biggest monthly toll since the recession of 1982.

South of the border, the U.S. economy shed 533,000 jobs, the fastest rate in more than 30 years, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.7%, its highest level in 15 years.

Investors also are awaiting a second day of congressional hearings with the heads of Detroit’s top three auto makers, who are appearing on Capitol Hill to try to win a rescue package for their industry. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler are collectively seeking US$34 billion in emergency funding.

In commodities news, crude oil fell 34¢ to US$43.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed flat, slipping 6.73 points to 7,917.51, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.5%.

The FTSE 100 was down 1.4% early in the afternoon in London, while Germany’s DAX declined 2.7% and the Paris CAC-40 was down 3.4%.

On Thursday, the S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 239.14 points, or 2.9%, to finish at 8,057.82.

The heavyweight energy group suffered the most, losing 7.5% on Thursday as oil futures fell for a fifth straight day.

The S&P/TSX Venture index lost 14.22 points, or 2%, to finish at 697.86.

In New York, U.S. stocks also saw hefty drops following news that U.S. factory orders fell sharply for the third month in a row.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 215.45 points, or 2.5%, to end the day at 8,376.24.

The Nasdaq composite index dipped 46.82 points, or 3.14%, to finish at 1,445.56.

The S&P 500 index slipped 25.52 points, or 2.9% to close at 845.22.

IE