Canada's main stock index edged lower on Friday, dragged by losses in financial names and as China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods revived trade war concerns.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 9.99 points to 16,399.17
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.28 cents at 77.07 cents U.S.
Canadian markets are closed on Monday for Civic Holiday.
Top percentage gainer on the TSX were shares of Sierra Wireless, which jumped $3.80, or 18%, to $24.92, after beating quarterly profit estimate, and Parkland Fuel, which rose $2.99, or 8.5%, to $38.18, after quarterly results.
Dorel Industries gained 40 cents, or 1.6%, to $24.72, and Advantage Oil & Gas, was down 8.5 cents, or 1.9%, to $4.41, after quarterly results.
On things macroeconomic, Statistics Canada revealed that this country's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $2.7 billion in May to $626 million in June, the smallest deficit since January 2017. Exports increased 4.1%, while imports edged down 0.2%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.09 points to 700.84
Seven of the 12 subgroups were lower, as energy doffed 0.8%, telecoms lost 0.6%, and industrials let go of 0.3%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1%, utilities taking on 0.8%, and real estate, ahead 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday, led by gains in IBM, as investors pored through newly proposed tariffs on U.S. goods by China and fresh jobs data.
The index added on 84.18 points to 25,410.34, as shares of "Big Blue" climbed nearly 3%.
The S&P 500 picked up 6.56 points to 2,833.78
The NASDAQ lost 9.07 points to 7,793.81
The U.S. Labor Department said the stateside economy added 157,000 jobs last month. Economists expected a gain of 190,000.
The headline jobs growth number for July missed expectations, but past months' figures were revised substantially higher. Plus, wage growth met expectations. Jobs growth for June was revised up to 248,000 from 213,000, while wages grew by 2.7% in July on a year-over-year basis.
Investors take a close look at the jobs report every month as they look for clues regarding the pace of the Federal Reserve's future interest rate hikes. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged after a meeting this week, but market expectations for a rate hike in September are at 93.6%.
China said Friday it will slap tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods, with charges ranging from 5% to 25%. Many of the goods are agricultural-related, with others on various metals and chemicals.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury inched up, lowering yields to 2.96% from Thursday’s 2.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices docked 76 cents to $68.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained six dollars to $1,226.10 U.S. an ounce.
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