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The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.

North American stock futures gained a little strength after the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report came in weaker than expected, reinforcing expectations that it'll be a long wait for the first U.S. interest rate hike. But those modest gains are evaporating as the opening bell approaches, with the latest indicators suggesting a flat open. The Canadian dollar spiked about half a cent after jobs data in this country came in surprisingly strong.

Futures for the Dow and S&P 500 were up close to 0.2 per cent, after being just barely in positive territory prior to the 830 a.m. (ET) data. But they've since dipped slightly in the red. Gold prices extended earlier gains as the U.S. dollar weakened after the jobs report.

The U.S. posted a net increase of 214,000 jobs last month, less than the 256,000 advance in September that was higher than initially estimated. Economists were looking for about 235,000 net new jobs. The jobless rate declined a notch to 5.8 per cent.

The numbers weren't far off expectations but suggested to traders that the labour market still isn't robust enough to spur the Fed into tightening monetary policy, especially given the recent end of its quantitative easing program.

The Canadian employment numbers have been exceptionally volatile in recent months, and today's report came in on the strong side, propelling the loonie back to near the 88 cents (U.S.) level. Canada added 43,100 jobs in October versus Street expectations for a 5,000 decline. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 per cent from 6.8 per cent.

Overseas markets this morning are relatively subdued, with German stocks off by about 0.2 per cent despite some positive news on its economy: fresh data showed that German exports surged 5.5 per cent in September, rebounding from a steep slide in August.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has returned to the market's attention. AFP and Reuters are quoting Ukraine's military as saying that a convoy of 32 tanks and 16 cannons and 30 trucks carrying troops and equipment had entered the country from Russia. Fresh fighting on the border is believed to have killed at least five people this week, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with top military officials today to discuss the developments. Traders have reacted by selling the rouble, which hit another record low against the U.S. dollar today after losing more than 12 per cent of its value over the past seven days.

Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.

MARKETS:

Futures:

S&P 500 -0.02 per cent; Dow -0.01 per cent; Nasdaq +0.14 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.04 per cent

Equities:

Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.42 per cent

Shanghai composite index -0.32 per cent

Japan's Nikkei +0.52 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.65 per cent

Germany's DAX -0.22 per cent

France's CAC 40 -0.42 per cent

Stoxx 600 -0.02 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Dec) +0.74 per cent at $78.49 (U.S.) a barrel

Natural gas (Nymex Jan) +0.16 per cent at $4.49 (U.S.)

Gold (Comex Dec) +1.06 per cent at $1,154.60 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Dec) -0.02 per cent at $3.02 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 88.13 (U.S.), up 0.0061

U.S. dollar index up 0.02 at 88.03

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.39 per cent, down 0.005

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

Canada added 43,100 jobs in October versus Street expectations for a 5,000 decline. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 per cent from 6.8 per cent. The Street had expected the rate to stay unchanged.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls in October rose by 214,000, less than expectations for 235,000 and below the previous month's job gains of 248,000. The unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent down one notch from September. It was expected to hold steady at 5.9 per cent.

(1015 a.m ET) Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks on "Policy since the onset of the financial crisis" in Paris.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Sears Holdings' shares skyrocketed nearly 25 per cent in the premarket after the struggling retailer said it's considering selling about 200 to 300 of its buildings to boost its liquidity. The move would entail the company forming a real estate investment trust. Sears would continue to operate in the stores by leasing them back.

Rig contractor Transocean Ltd said it expected to incur impairment charges of $2.76 billion in the third quarter and would delay its results for the period, sending its shares down as much as 10 per cent premarket.

TMX Group reported adjusted Q3 EPS of 86 cents (Canadian) vs. estimates for 97 cents.

Earnings include: Athabasca Oil; Brookfield Asset Management; Canexus; Emera; Enerplus; Fortis; GMP Capital; High Liner Foods; Stella-Jones.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded SNC-Lavalin Group to "outperform" from "market perform" with a price target of $54 (Canadian).

National Bank Financial downgraded BCE to "sector perform" from "outperform."

Raymond James downgraded Trilogy Energy to "outperform" from "strong buy" and cut its price target to $26 (Canadian) from $40. BMO Nesbitt Burns also lowered its rating, to "market perform" from "outperform," with a price target of $23. And National Bank downgraded its rating to "sector perform" from "outperform" with a price target of $21.

FirstEnergy Capital downgraded Paramount Resources to "market perform" from "outperform" with a price target of $55 (Canadian).

Raymond James downgraded Roxgold to "outperform" from "strong buy" and cut its price target to 80 cents (Canadian) from $1.20.

Canaccord cut its price target on SNC-Lavalin to $61 (Canadian) from $67 and reiterated a "buy" rating.

Canaccord hiked its price target on Air Canada to $16 (Canadian) from $13 and maintained a "buy" rating.

Raymond James downgraded Legumex Walker to "market perform" from "strong buy" and cut its price target to $5 (Canadian) from $8.75. Cormark Securities downgraded the stock to "market perform" from "buy" with a price target of $4.

Cormark Securities upgraded Osisko Gold Royalties to "buy" from "market perform" with a price target of $17.25 (Canadian).

TD Securities downgraded Surge Energy to "hold" from "buy" with a price target of $7.50 (Canadian).

THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:

Gold miners are oversold.

Investors are not backing sectors that would signal the economy is gaining altitude.

QE worked, but not as advertised.

Here's what's grounding Netflix, Amazon and other formerly high-flying stocks.

How K-Cups defeated a legendary hedge fund manager.

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Have feedback on our daily Before the Bell report and suggestions on how to make it more useful in your investing day? Please contact Inside the Market Editor Darcy Keith at dakeith@globeandmail.com.

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