March 14 (Reuters) - Futures tied to Canada's main stock index jumped on Friday, but the benchmark index was on track for a sharp weekly fall as the escalating trade war with the United States sparked concerns of an economic slowdown.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.6% at 6:48 a.m. ET (1048 GMT).
The TSX's composite index (.GSPTSE), fell to a four-and-a-half-month low on Thursday and is down 2.2% for the week.
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Ex-central banker Mark Carney will be formally sworn in as prime minister of Canada on Friday, putting him in a position to fight tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump that could devastate the trade-dependent Canadian economy.
Trump's erratic tariff onslaught, along with retaliation from Canada and the European Union, have strained global trade relations and raised concerns about a potential economic recession in the U.S. and Canada.
The Bank of Canada, when it delivered a quarter-point interest rate cut on Wednesday, also warned of "a new crisis" as it tried to prepare the domestic economy for the damage that tariffs could wreak.
In commodities, gold rose above $3,000/ounce on Friday, hitting a record high, propelled by trade war fears and potential U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The bullion, a preferred asset by investors during geopolitical and economic downturns, has scaled 13 all-time highs so far this year.
Oil prices rebounded after sharp declines in the previous session, partly due to the diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war, which could impact the return of Russian energy supplies.
In corporate news, distributor of architectural building products Adentra (ADEN.TO), on Thursday missed the fourth-quarter sales estimate and highlighted a slight decline in annual sales.
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($1 = 1.4417 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Vijay Kishore
