Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market was poised for a lower open Friday as commodity prices sank on renewed concerns over European debt and heightening tensions between the Koreas.

The Canadian dollar shed 1.19 cents to 97.85 cents US as the greenback made gains against most other currencies.

Investors once again flocked to the safety of the US dollar amidst global uncertainty over the possibility that Portugal and Spain could soon be forced to ask for a bailout and reports that more shots have been fired on the Korean peninsula.

The TSX has rebounded over the past two days after investor panic at the beginning of the weak drove many to hit the sell button. However, the Toronto market closed after a quiet day of trading Thursday just over 10 points shy of Friday’s close.

Oil prices fell 82 cents to US$83.05 a barrel as traders mulled whether economic growth in China will slow and drag down demand for crude.

The December copper contract on the Nymex slipped three cents to US$ $3.73 while the December gold contract fell $11.20 to US$1361.80. After a day long break for U.S. Thanksgiving Thursday, Wall Street futures markets moved lower with Dow Jones futures down 75 points at 11,080 and Nasdaq futures fell 16.25 points to 2,141.75. The S&P 500 futures were down 11 points to 1,185.50. U.S. markets will close in the early afternoon Friday and trading is expected to remain slow as American traders take a Thanksgiving holiday.

Asian markets remained jittery following several days of tension between North and South Korea that began Tuesday when North Korea unleashed a brief hail of artillery against the small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. Four South Koreans were killed. On Friday, fresh artillery fire was heard hours after Pyongyang warned that the Korean peninsula was on the brink of war.

“Most Asian countries are still hesitating about the situation in Korea, and the markets are hesitant about what might happen,” said Lee Kok Joo, head of research at Phillip Securities in Singapore.

Further afield in Europe, a debt crisis that seemed containable just weeks ago is escalating, with some experts saying it was only a matter of time before Spain – like Ireland and Greece – would be forced to beg for outside help.

The continent’s troubles have sent the euro lower against the dollar. Ireland on Sunday asked for a massive loan, estimated at 85 billion euros ($115 billion), from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, as Greece did in May.

Asian markets acted without cues from the U.S., where financial markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average closed down 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index down 1%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.9%, and France’s CAC-40 was 1.3% lower.