Stock markets in oil-producing Canada took a header at the open on Friday, despite favourable economic news, after a momentous decision by OPEC on Thursday not to cut oil production.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 75.77 points to open Friday at 14,846.67
The Canadian dollar fell 0.54 cents to 87.72 cents U.S.
Germany has approved Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry's planned acquisition of Secusmart, the encryption technology of which is used to protect the mobile devices of top politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel. The company once known as Research In Motion took on a dime per share to $11.99.
TD Securities cut the price target Alderon Iron to $2.00 from $3.00, with a speculative buy rating. Alderon shares gathered a penny to 40 cents.
Canaccord cut the price target on Great Prairie Energy to $0.50 from $0.60, with a buy rating. Great Prairie shares gained 2.5 cents, to 24.5 cents.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that Gross Domestic Product rose 0.7% in the third quarter, following a 0.9% gain in the second quarter. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry increased 0.4% in September.
The agency’s Industrial Product Price Index decreased 0.5% in October, mainly because of lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
StatsCan’s Raw Materials Price Index slid 4.3% in October, largely as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
Moreover, Canada's current account deficit in the third quarter unexpectedly narrowed to $8.4 billion, its best performance in six years, Statistics Canada data indicated on Thursday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 4.90 points to open at 750.55
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour, with metals and mining weaker by 3.6%, their cousins among global base metals down 3.4%, and gold less lustrous by 2.9%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by consumer staples, consumer discretionaries, and utilities, each up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed on Black Friday, weighed by lower oil prices following OPEC's announcement that it would not cut its output.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 33.53 points to open Friday at 17,861.28, led by Wal-Mart. Chevron and Exxon Mobil were the greatest of five blue-chip decliners.
The S&P 500 dipped 1.93 points at 2,070.90. The NASDAQ index moved up 9.67 points to 4,796.99.
Markets stateside were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will operate an abbreviated scheduled today, closing at 1 p.m. ET.
Friday is also the final trading day of November, and barring an epic selloff, the Dow and S&P 500 will post a second straight month of gains and the eighth in 11 months this year.
The NASDAQ will also post a second month of gains, but only its seventh in 11 months (it was down in April while the others were higher).
On Thursday, the 12-member oil cartel OPEC announced it would hold its output target at 30 million barrels per day, triggering a sharp decline in oil prices. The decision surprised some market professionals, who had forecast that Saudi Arabia would push through a cut.
Crude touched four-and-a-half-year lows on the news
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.21% from Wednesday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices went south $4.34 to $69.35 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $16.80 at $1,179.80 U.S.
