Markets in Toronto lost some ground Friday morning, as investors pulled back after a strong rally this week following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold rates steady and more cautious outlook.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 76.37 points to greet noon at 14,720.81. Even so, the index was on pace for a 1.9% hike on the week.
The Canadian dollar staggered 0.8 cents at 75.87 cents U.S.
Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.6% to $81.42 and Bank of Nova Scotia lost 0.7% to $70.60.
The financials group, which accounts for 35% of the index's weight, slipped 0.6% overall.
Among energy plays, Seven Generations Energy fell 2.7%to $30.85 after Paramount Resources said it had sold 24.7 million shares of the oil and natural gas developer.
Materials stocks got roughed up for the most part, though Teck Resources advanced 5.7% to $23.54. The stock recently hit a two-year high, boosted by a rally in prices for metallurgical coal.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that inflation rose 1.1% in the 12 months leading to August, following a 1.3% hike in July.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1% in August, after posting no change in July.
Elsewhere, retail sales inched down 0.1% to $44.1 billion in July, the third straight relatively unchanged month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.53 points by noon ET at 810.02, positioning the index for a 1.3% gain on the week.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, as energy sagged 1.3%, gold dimmed 0.7% in price, and materials lost 0.6%.
The three gainers were information technology, up 0.4%, consumer discretionaries, ahead 0.3%, and health-care, up 0.2%.
ON WALL STREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Friday, as tech lagged, as investors digested a key economic data release and kept an eye on oil prices, following two strong sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 67.39 points to 18,325.07, with 3M the worst off.
The S&P 500 faded 7.14 points to 2,170.04, with information technology leading decliners.
The NASDAQ Composite backtracked 15.15 points to 5,324.25. The three major indexes were still on track to post weekly gains.
In corporate news, Twitter's stock soared more than 20% after media reports the firm has received expressions of interest from several technology or media companies and may receive a formal bid shortly. The stock was also on pace to record its best trading day since July 30, 2014, when it gained nearly 20%
Motor oil maker Valvoline saw its shares rise nearly 10% in its initial public offering. Valvoline is a spinoff of Ashland.
The September read on the Markit Manufacturing Flash PMI came in at 51.4, below the August read of 52.0.
IHS Markit, the firm that released the data, said that the September number marked seven years of continuous growth in manufacturing, but that the headline index was below the average seen over this period (54.0) and remained close to the post-crisis low recorded in May (50.7).
Prices for the 10-year Treasury made back lost ground, lowering yields to Thursday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.38 to $44.94 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dulled $3.30 at $1,341.40 U.S. an ounce.
