Equities in Canada’s largest market still found on the downside looking up as the clock approached noon, Friday, with consumer staples smarting from the beating they took, in reaction to Amazon’s proposed takeover of grocery store chain Whole Foods.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed red 20.05 points to greet noon at 15,140.37
The Canadian dollar moved up 0.15 cents to 75.58 cents U.S.
Loblaw shares stumbled $2.02, or 2.7%, to $73.47, while rival Metro plummeted $1.51, or 3.4%, to $42.94.
Among consumer discretionary stocks, Canadian Tire doffed $2.27, or 1.5%, to $147.23, while Magna International fell $2.14, or 3.6%, to $57.89.
Materials were bruised, in particular, Teck Resources, $1.64, or 7.1%, to $19.94, while Barrick Gold docked 13 cents to $20.63.
Telecoms showed some muscle, as BCE Inc. gained 14 cents to $59.47, while TELUS shot up 51 cents, or 1.1%, to $45.50.
Energy stocks did their part, as well, as Encana added four cents to $11.71, while Suncor Energy gathered 10 cents to $39.26.
In health-care, Canopy Growth acquired 28 cents, or 3.7%, to $7.79, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals took on 51 cents, or 3.2%, to $16.60.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported foreigners bought $10.6 billion in Canadian securities, most of them government debt instruments, while Canadians reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $9.9 billion, the largest divestment since January 2016.
Elsewhere, data showed on Friday that lending to small Canadian businesses picked up in April, boosted by activity in consumer-related sectors and suggesting growth in the broader economy was gaining momentum.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 0.12 points to 771.74
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were still struggling by the noon hour, as consumer staples skidded 1.9%, consumer discretionary concerns scaled back 1.1%, and materials dipped 0.7%.
The three gainers were telecoms, up 0.6%, energy, up 0.5%, and health-care, nicking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed by noon ET on Friday, as investors pored through weaker-than-expected economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials came into the green 7.44 points to 21,367.34, with Wal-Mart contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 slipped 2.46 points to 2,430.05, with consumer staples falling more than 1.5% to lead decliners
The NASDAQ fell 16.77 points to 6,148.73.
Still, the three major indexes were little changed for the week. Entering Friday's session, the NASDAQ was the only one on track for a weekly loss as large-cap tech stocks have faced selling pressure.
In corporate news, Amazon announced it was buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, or $42 a share. Shares of Kroger, Costco, Target,
SuperValu, Sprouts Farmers Markets and Wal-Mart all dropped following the news.
Housing starts fell 5.5% in May. Economists expected a rise of 3.5%.
The preliminary read on consumer sentiment for June also missed expectations, hitting 94.5.
Moreover, U.S. economic growth slowed in the first quarter, with Gross Domestic Product increasing at a 1.2% annual rate. GDP grew at a 2.1% in the last quarter of 2016.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were slightly higher, lowering yields to 2.15% from Thursday’s 2.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 22 cents to $44.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices brightened $1.40 to $1,256.00 U.S. an ounce.
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