(RTTNews) - Toronto stocks will look to build on sharp gains from the previous session on Friday morning as traders looked ahead to three-day holiday weekend. Canadian markets will be closed on Monday for Victoria Day.

Energy stocks could see weakness with oil prices heading lower in early trading. Crude oil has lost 65 cents to $57.97 per barrel. Copper prices are also slightly lower and again testing the key $2 per barrel mark. Meanwhile, gold is up slightly.

Silvercorp Metals (SVM.TO) reported a fourth quarter net income of US$1.2 million or US$0.01 per share, compared to US$10.9 million or US$0.07 per share in the previous year quarter.

GLG Life Tech (GLG.TO), a refiner and producer of a natural sweetener reported a net loss for the quarter of C$1.5 million or C$0.02 per share, compared to a net loss of C$0.93 million or C$0.01 per share in the previous year.

Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP.TO) said its Board of Directors has approved a 20% increase in the quarterly dividend rate on its Class A and Class B common shares from US$0.20 per share to US$0.24 per share, payable June 15, to shareholders of record on May 29.

Quebecor World (IQW.TO) reported first quarter net loss of US$125.9 million or US$0.64 per share, compared to a loss of US$190.0 million or US$1.04 per share in the prior year quarter.

New Gold (NGD.TO) and Western Goldfields Inc. (WGI.TO) announced shareholders of both companies have approvced. Yesterday, the Transaction was also approved at a special meeting of New Gold shareholders.

On the corporate front, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that manufacturing sales dropped 2.7% in March, erasing gains from the previous month.

Across the border, the Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in April after edging down by an unrevised 0.1 percent in March. The lack of growth in consumer prices came in line with the expectations of economists.

At the same time, the report showed that the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3 percent in April after rising 0.2 percent in each of the three previous months. Economists had expected core prices to edge up 0.1 percent.

Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 139.69 points or 1.43% to 9,849.20. Before the rebound, Bay Street’s main index had lost more than 500 points from last Friday’s seven-month high.

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Posted in Categories: Canada, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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