Equities in Toronto came to within sight of breakeven Friday, after spending much of the day in negative territory.
The S&P/TSX composite index lost 10.51 points to close the day and week at 12,763.99. The index was reportedly on track for a 1.1% loss for week.
The Canadian dollar staggered 0.82 cents to 71.9 cents U.S.
Techs took the biggest bruises on the day, as BlackBerry lost 30 cents, or nearly 3%, to $9.87, and OpenText Corp. got pasted $2.03, or 3.1%, to $62.83.
Industrials were also battered, as once-mighty Bombardier suffered a fall of seven cents, or 8.5%, to 80 cents. Canadian National Railways went south $1.50, or 2%, to $74.22.
On the positive side, gold stocks flexed their muscles, as Barrick Gold flourished 78 cents, or 5.1%, to $16.19. Rival Goldcorp hiked $1.13, or 6.3%, to $19.12.
On a crowded day for economic numbers, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our economy lost 5,700 jobs, in January, and the unemployment rate eked up to 7.2%.
Moreover, the agency said Canada's exports increased 3.9% in December and imports were up 1.6%. Consequently, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.6 billion in November to $585 million in December.
Finally, Western University in London, Ontario reported that its Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 66 by the end of January, compared to 49.9 in December, and 45.4 in January 2015.
The PMI asks purchasing managers if their purchases increased, went down or stayed static during the month, and any reading over 50 denotes an overall increase.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved into positive territory 3.67 points to 508.15
Eight of the 13 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, with information technology stocks swooning 3.8%, while consumer discretionaries faltered 1.3%, and industrials off 1%.
The five gainers were led by gold, ahead 5.4%, materials, up 2.5%, and utilities advancing 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed sharply lower on Friday amid a massive drop in technology stocks and as mixed U.S. employment data raised
concerns the Federal Reserve may raise rates this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average jettisoned 211.35 points, or 1.3%, to close Friday at 16,204.83. McDonald's and Home Depot weighed the most on the index.
The S&P 500 let go of 40.42 points, or 2.1%, to 1,875.03, as information technology fell more than 3.4%
The NASDAQ index hurtled earthward 146.41 points, or 3.3%, to 4,363.15, as Apple dropped 2.6%.
Also weighing on the index were Amazon and Facebook. Both stocks were down about 6%.
LinkedIn shares also tanked about 45% after posting weak guidance on their quarterly results.
Investors also digested a new batch of earnings reports, with Tyson Foods, Estee Lauder, Moody's and Coca-Cola posting quarterly results.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the stateside economy added 151,000 jobs in January, in contrast to a gain of 190,000 projected by economists. The unemployment rate, however, fell to 4.9% from 5%
Another data set released Friday was the U.S. trade deficit, which widened in December amid a rising dollar and a weak global demand.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.84% from Thursday’s 1.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 87 cents a barrel to $30.85 U.S.
Gold prices rocketed higher $17.68 to $1,173.27 U.S. an ounce.
