U.S. stock futures pointed lower Friday after the previous session’s rally.

Friday’s U.S. economic data calendar includes reports on income, spending and inflation data for May, as well as a second reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence gauge for June.

The market expects the U.S. Commerce Department to report a modest rise in May consumer spending, and the University of Michigan to report that consumer sentiment was unchanged in June.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar rose to US87.05¢, from Thursday’s finish at US86.49¢.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada.

In earnings news, Potash Corp. cut its earnings guidance for the second quarter Thursday evening, citing substantially lower than forecasted potash sales volumes.

The company said it expects to post second-quarter earnings per share of just US70¢, down from the US$1.10 to US$1.50 per share it had earlier forecast.

Also Thursday, Swiss bank UBS said it sold US$3.45 billion worth of shares and warned of a second-quarter loss.

In commodities news, benchmark crude for August delivery added 92¢ to US$71.15 a barrel by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark gained 81.31, or 0.8%, to 9,877.39 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 325.23, or 1.8%, to 18,600.25.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4%, the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% and Germany’s DAX advanced 0.8%.

On Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange experienced another session of broad-based gains, with all 10 main groups ending higher for a second consecutive day.

The S&P/TSX composite index soared 254.92 points, or 2.5%, to close at 10,355.85.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index also advanced, gaining 12.39 points, or 1.1%, to close at 1,103.05.

In New York, U.S. stock markets also finished with healthy gains on Thursday, recovering from early-day losses on data showing that U.S. claims for jobless insurance rose unexpectedly last week, rising by 15,000 to 627,000.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 172.54 points, or 2.1%, to close at 8,472.40.

The S&P 500 index advanced 19.32 points, or 2.1%, to end at 920.26.

The Nasdaq composite index finished at 1,829.54, up 37.20 points, or 2.1%.

IE