Stocks in Canada’s biggest market struggled their way toward breakeven, after falling into a deep hole Friday on weakness of telecoms and resource stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index declined 40.87 points to conclude the day and a short week at 15,033.38. The index is on track for about a 1.3% fall over the week, which only began on Tuesday, having been shut down the day before for Civic Holiday
The Canadian dollar regained 0.35 cents to 78.84 cents U.S.
TELUS was one of the most influential movers on the index, falling 69 cents, or 1.5% to $44.86. Elsewhere among telecoms, BCE let go of 16 cents to $58.61.
Wheaton Precious Metals fell $1.28, or 5%, to $24.20 after it reported lower-than-expected revenue after the close on Thursday. Elsewhere in the materials sector, Teck Resources lost 22 cents to $28.14.
In the health-care sector, Canopy Growth Corp. ditched 17 cents, or 1.9%, to $8.82, while Concordia International docked eight cents, or 4.8%, to $1.60.
Tech stocks tried to brighten the picture, with BlackBerry poking ahead three cents to $11.14, while Constellation Software darted ahead $10.23, or 1.5%, to $694.25.
In consumer staples, Metro advanced 29 cents to $42.74, while Saputo climbed 70 cents, or 1.6%, to $43.31.
Among industrials, Canadian National Railways moved forward 22 cents to $100.96, while Air Canada was airborne 32 cents, or 1.5%, to $22.10.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.24 points to 762.81
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative, with telecoms down 0.7%, materials failing 0.6%, and health-care off 0.4%.
The five gainers were lifted most by information technology, perking 0.9%, consumer staples, soaring 0.8%, and industrials up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities edged higher on Friday as investors weighed tensions between the U.S. and North Korea heading into the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished in the green 14.31 points to 21,858.32, after briefly dipping into negatively territory, with Apple contributing the most gains. The Dow closed out its second-worst weekly performance of the year.
The S&P 500 regained 3.11 points to 2,441.32, with information technology rising 0.8% to lead advancers. The index also posted its second-worst weekly performance of the year, falling 1.4% for the week, the most since the week of March 24.
The NASDAQ recovered 39.68 points to 6,256.56, as large-cap tech stocks rebounded. The index posted its third-worst weekly performance of the year.
Before this week, U.S. stocks have been hitting record highs, boosted by mostly stronger-than-expected earnings.
Snap, however, did not beat expectations. The social media company posted a larger-than-expected loss and smaller-than-expected revenue, sending the stock down more than 14%
J.C. Penney's stock also fell sharply Friday after the struggling retailer turned in a mixed second-quarter report that included a greater-than-expected loss in earnings. The stock fell over 17% Friday.
Graphics chipmaker Nvidia saw its stock fall 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings. Though one of the best-performing stocks in the entire market, investors were disappointed by its slow growth in its unit that serves artificial intelligence applications.
In economic tidings, the U.S. Labor Department said on Friday the Consumer Price Index edged up 0.1% last month, versus expectations of a 0.2% gain.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell slightly back, raising yields to 2.19% from Thursday’s 2.2%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recaptured 18 cents to $48.77 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $6.60 to $1,296.70 U.S. an ounce.
