U.S. stock futures on Friday pointed lower Friday with no major earnings news or economic data today to push markets higher.

In the U.S. the RBC cash index, a consumer sentiment reading, fell to 48.5, from 56.3 a month ago.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported today that the Canadian economy created 46,000 new jobs in January, pushing unemployment rates down to 5.8%.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 222,700 units in January, up from 184,700 units in December, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The Canadian dollar opened at 99.51 cents US this morning, up 0.58 of a cent from Thursday’s close.

Crude went up 55¢ to US$88.66 a barrel in premarket trading on the Nymex.

In earnings news, soft drink maker Cott Corp. reported a $76.8 million loss, or $1.07 per share in Q4, nearly triple its loss of $29.6-million in the same period a year ago.

Air Canada’s parent company, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. reported net income for 2007 of $1.4 billion, up from $408 million in 2006.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei average closed down 1.4%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.1%, the French CAC-40 fell 0.2% and Germany’s DAX rose 0.2%.

Stock markets found their way higher Thursday, despite gloomy pending housing data and retail sales reports in the U.S.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed up 58.17 points, or 0.45%, at 12,925.37.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed down 12.62 points, or 0.50%, at 2,493.04.

In New York, bargain hunters pulled markets up Thursday afternoon, battling the slump caused by weak housing and retails reports and disappointing earnings forecasts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 46.90 points, or 0.38%, to close at 12,247.00.

The S&P 500 also made gains, rising 10.46 points, or 0.79%, ending at 1,336.91.

The Nasdaq ended the day at 2,293.03, up 14.28 points, or 0.63%.