Equities in Canada’s largest market were lower Friday afternoon, led by declines in energy and consumer staple stocks, as investors stayed cautious ahead of next week’s federal election.
The TSX Composite dipped 132.78 points Friday afternoon to 20,469.32.
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.37 cents to 78.48 cents U.S.
On the corporate front -- TC Energy has signed a deal to sell its remaining 15% stake in the Northern Courier Pipeline to a partnership that includes Suncor Energy and eight Indigenous communities. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 11.33 points to 884.57.
All but one of the 12 TSX were lower, with energy sliding 1.57%, consumer staples down 1.31% and financials off 0.87%.
On the upside, industrials rose 0.60%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks took a hit on Friday as investors remain cautious due to a resurgent Covid virus and a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 200 points or 0.65%, dragged down by a 3% drop in Dow Inc. The S&P 500 shed 0.85% and the Nasdaq Composite lost roughly 1%.
The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) two-day policy meeting next week should provide some clarity on the outlook for tapering and interest rates.
Shares of Invesco jumped 7% after the Wall Street Journal reported the money manager is in talks to combine with State Street’s asset-management business. Invesco manages about $1.5 trillion.
Technology stocks were mostly negative, with social media giant Facebook dropping 1%. Apple and Microsoft also lost 1%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note advanced by 1.4 basis points to 1.345%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell less a basis point to 1.889%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The November crude contract was down 78 cents at US$71.59 per barrel.
Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,750.70 per ounce.
