Wall Street stock index futures were up Friday amid the monthly expiration of futures and options on stocks and stock indexes.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales increased for the second consecutive month in July, mainly as a result of higher sales in the automotive products sector.

Sales in current dollars rose 2.8% to $41.7 billion, StatsCan said.

In commodities news, crude-oil futures fell 69¢ to US$71.78 a barrel.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average fell 73.26, or 0.7%, at 10,370.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 145.06, or 0.7%.

European stocks were modestly lower. The UK’s FTSE 100 index was off 0.2% at 5,154.76, Frankfurt’s DAX index was down 0.2% at 5,719.77, and the CAC-40 index in Paris was 0.3% lower at 3,823.11.

A five-day winning streak for the Toronto Stock Exchange came to an end on Thursday, as resource stocks weighed down the benchmark index.

The S&P/TSX composite index shed 27.37 points, or 0.2%, to close at 11,528.23.

A mid-day drop in junior stocks led to losses for the S&P/TSX Venture composite index. It closed at 1,272.74, down 11.80 points, or 0.9%.

In New York, U.S. stock market indices finished with mild losses on Thursday, as financial sector stocks dropped.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 7.79 points, or less than 0.1%, to end at 9,783.92.

The S&P 500 index fell 3.27 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,065.49.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 6.40 points, or 0.3%, to 2,126.75.

Shares of Oracle Corp. dropped 2.8% to close at US$21.52 on the New York Stock Exchange after the business software company reported late on Wednesday that revenues in the quarter ended Aug. 31 dropped 5% over last year.

IE