Wall Street stock futures pointed to a higher open Friday after the previous day’s selloff.

Trading in the U.S. is expected to be light ahead of the Memorial Day long weekend.

Bond markets will close at 14:00 ET Friday, and all U.S. markets will be closed on Monday.

Here at home, retail sales increased for the third consecutive month in March, rising 0.3%.

Higher sales at new car dealers was the main contributor to this increase, Statistics Canada said Friday. In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.7%.

The Canadian dollar opened at 88.83¢, up 0.96 of a cent from Thursday’s close.

In earnings news, British Airways suffered a £375 million loss in the past year, hit by high fuel costs and slumping demand, the airline said Friday,

Department retailer Sears Holdings posted a surprise first-quarter profit amid cost cuts and tighter inventory controls. Meanwhile, Gap reported a 14% profit fall, with sales in all four of its divisions falling.

Light, sweet crude fell 54¢ to US$61.59 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.8%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, Germany’s DAX index rose 1.1%, and France’s CAC-40 added 1.1%.

After two days of strong gains, the Toronto Stock Exchange succumbed to broad-based declines on Thursday, including a steep drop in energy stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 282.85 points, or 2.8%, to 9,949.59.

The energy group tumbled 4.4% as oil futures finished lower. Crude for July delivery fell US$0.99, or 1.6%, to US$61.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Junior companies on the S&P/TSX Venture composite index managed to recover from earlier losses to finish at 1,089.85, up 4.21 points, or 0.4%.

In New York, U.S. stocks also tumbled on Thursday after a report from the Labor Department revealed higher-than-expected jobless claims last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 8,292.13, down 129.91 points, or 1.5%.

The S&P 500 index fell 15.14 points, or 1.7%, to end at 888.33.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 32.59 points, or 1.9%, to close at 1,695.25.

IE