Markets in Toronto were little changed in early trade on Friday, tracking for a 0.3% slip in a holiday-shortened week, as gold miners rose with precious metal at its highest since May 1 and as banks and energy stocks slipped.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index nicked up 1.29 points to open the final session of a short week at 15,412.02. Markets were closed Monday in Canada for Victoria Day.
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.09 cents to 74.25 cents U.S.
Taiwan's Cathay Financial Holdings said its two subsidiaries have completed an agreement to acquire the Malaysia unit of Bank of Nova Scotia for $255 million. Scotiabank shares dropped 18 cents to $75.48.
Kinder Morgan Inc has made a final investment decision on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, contingent on the successful public offering of its Canadian division, the company said on Thursday as it acknowledges the political uncertainty weighing on the project.
Kinder Morgan dropped 10 cents in early trade in New York Friday to $19.32 U.S.
TD Securities raised the target price on Tembec Inc. to $4.25 from $4.00. Tembec shares were static at $4.17.
Credit Suisse reinstates coverage on Cenovus Energy with an outperform rating, and a $20.00 target price. Cenovus shares forged up four cents to $12.46.
Credit Suisse reinstated coverage on Hydro One with a neutral rating, and target price of $26.00. Hydro One shares faded seven cents to $23.38.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 4.68 points to 804.54
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower in the first hour of trading, with consumer staples skidding 0.3%, telecoms off 0.2%, and utilities 0.1% to the bad.
The five gainers were led by gold, soaring 0.7%, health-care, haler by 0.5%, and materials, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks kicked off Friday's session slightly lower as investors geared up for the Memorial Day holiday weekend and digested key economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials listed lower 18.22 points to 21,064.73, with 3M contributing the most losses and Boeing the most gains.
The S&P 500 gave back 0.52 points to 2,414.52, while the NASDAQ stepped back from Thursday’s lofty heights by 0.57 points to 6,204.68
Equities came into Friday's session riding a six-day winning streak, with the S&P and NASDAQ indexes notching record highs on Thursday.
Technology has been the best-performing sector this year, rising nearly 20% in the period. Leading the charge for the sector have been large-cap stocks such as Facebook, Netflix and Amazon, which have risen more than 30% in 2017. Amazon's stock was also within striking distance of reaching $1,000 per share.
Economically speaking, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.2% in the first quarter, an improvement from the first reading on economic growth.
Durable goods orders for April, meanwhile, fell less than expected.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched higher, lowering yields to 2.24% from Thursday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices poked higher 22 cents at $49.12 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $9.90 at $1,266.30 U.S. an ounce.
