The Toronto stock market was lower Friday, pulled down by all sectors, with the heaviest weights being the metals and mining, gold and materials sectors.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 199.14 points, or 1.3%, to end the day and week at 15,266.40, heading toward a decline of more than 1% for the week
The Canadian dollar tailed off 0.10 cents to 91.34 cents U.S.
In other corporate news, TransCanada Corp. says costs for its long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline will likely balloon to as much as $10 billion U.S., up from $5.4 billion U.S.
Keystone XL would link 830,000 barrels per day of mostly oilsands crude to an existing network that feeds into the lucrative U.S. Gulf Coast refining market.
Environmental concerns over the project range from a potential spill's impact on drinking water to the enabling of further oilsands development and its accompanying increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Backers of the project say it would create construction jobs and displace crude imports to the U.S. from unfriendly regimes. Shares in TransCanada gained 1.3%, or 81 cents, to $61.62 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Canadian Natural Resources fell 2.3% to $44.07, Suncor Energy slipped 2.5% to $41.99, and Encana declined 2.5% to $23.79.
Miners also weighed, with the materials sector, a part of the group, down. First Quantum Minerals Ltd fell 4% to $21.61, after it
suspended operations at a mine in Mauritania.
Banks also contributed to the downward pressure, with Bank of Nova Scotia was down 1.9% at $71.56, Royal Bank of Canada was off 1.6% at $81.80, and Toronto-Dominion Bank also slipped 1.7% to $56.56.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that August’s Consumer Price Index inched up 0.1%, after a 0.1% decline in July. The agency also says consumer prices rose 2.1% in the 12 months to August, matching the increase in July.
The agency also noted that wholesale trade backtracked 0.3% in July to $52.9 billion, following three consecutive monthly gains.
Declines in five sub-sectors, which together represented 81% of wholesale sales, more than offset an increase in the motor vehicle and parts sub-sector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 9.59 points to 956.20.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day, with metals and mining down 3.7%, materials and gold each off 2.3%.
By the close, only utilities had ventured into positive territory, gaining 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks retreated from record highs on Friday, with falls in tech companies weighing on the NASDAQ Composite.
The Dow Jones Industrials was up 13.75 points to close the day at 17,279.74, still a new all-time mark for the blue chips.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.96 points to 2,010.40. The NASDAQ lost 13.64 to 4,579.79.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. which priced Thursday at $68.00 U.S., opened at above $92 U.S. on Friday. Alibaba’s market capitalization is now at $222 billion U.S., making it one of the largest U.S.-listed companies, with a larger market capitalization than Amazon.
Yahoo Inc. shares fell 5.4%, suggesting a big windfall from Alibaba’s IPO was already priced in. Yahoo owns a large stake in Alibaba.
Oracle Corp. fell 4.6% on Thursday’s news that Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison is stepping down in favor of Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, who will serve as co-CEOs.
Shares of Concur Technologies Inc. surged 18% on news Germany-based SAP AG will buy the software group in a deal valued at $8.3 billion U.S. The Wall Street Journal said the deal was the largest in SAP’s history. U.S.-listed shares of SAP fell 4%.
Stocks were supported by favourable outcomes in two ‘risk events’ this week. The Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to facilitating the U.S. economic recovery by maintaining its view on the timing of interest-rate hikes, and Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.59% from Thursday’s 2.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 58 cents to $92.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices went down $9.30 to $1,217.60 U.S. an ounce.
