Wall Street stock futures suggested a flat open on Friday ahead of this weekend’s meeting of the economic leaders from the world’s leading industrialized nations in Rome.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened 0.75 of a cent higher at US81.08¢.

In today’s earnings news, Air Canada reported a fourth-quarter loss of $727 million, reversing a year-earlier profit of $35 million.

Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch posted a 68% drop in net income on falling margins and weak same-store sales.

PepsiCo reported a 43% fall in net income, meeting estimates.

In other market news, Bombardier Inc. shares may come under pressure after a 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft crashed into a house just outside Buffalo, N.Y. Thursday night. It was first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States in two years.

Cinram International Income Fund David Rubenstein, its CEO, has decided to resign after more than fifteen years with Cinram. Rubenstein has agreed to continue to serve in his current roles until March 31.

In this morning’s commodities news, gold futures cooled, losing US$11.10 to US$938.10 an ounce.

The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 60¢ to US$34.58 a barrel.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was up 99.84 points, or 1.3%, at 7,805.20, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 235.41, or 1.8%, to 13,463.71.

London’s FTSE 100 index advanced 1%, Germany’s DAX 30 rose 1.4% and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 2.35%.

On Thursday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange recovered from triple-digit losses on to close up 40 points, led by gains in the materials group.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 40.89 points, or 0.5%, to close at 8,778.78. A mid-afternoon power outage in downtown Toronto impacted the building in which the Toronto Stock Exchange operates, but trading on the exchange continued through a separate power source.

The S&P/TSX Venture exchange also witnessed gains on Thursday, sending the composite index up 4.61 points, or 0.5%, to 915.87.

In New York, U.S. equities experienced a significant comeback of their own on Thursday, recovering from hefty losses to end nearly flat.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 6.77 points, or 0.1%, at 7,932.76. Earlier, the blue-chip index was down more than 250 points.

The S&P 500 index gained 1.45 points, or 0.2%, to end at 835.19.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 11.21 points, or 0.7%, to 1,541.71.

IE