Markets in Canada’s largest centre fell on Friday, led by financial stocks as investors gauged the much stronger-than-expected inflation data for pace of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index subsided 7.73 points to open the week’s final session at 16,217.92
The Canadian dollar sprang to life 0.48 cents to 76.48 cents U.S.
The federal energy regulator on Thursday said it had given the go-ahead for the construction of a large portion of the Trans Mountain expansion project, which will nearly triple capacity on the oil pipeline from Alberta to a Vancouver area port.
The pipeline’s owner, Kinder Morgan Canada, lost a nickel to $16.75.
Pieridae Energy, considering whether to build Canada's first major liquefied natural gas export terminal, is in talks with Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, for a 10-year supply deal, the companies said on Thursday.
Pieridae gained 21 cents, or 5%, to $4.44.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Mullen Group to $17.50 from $16.25.
Mullen gained 13 cents to $16.22.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reports foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $11.5 billion in June, up from $3.0 billion in May. At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities increased to $11.3 billion, the largest investment since January of this year.
In July, the cost of living rose 3.0% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 2.5% increase in June. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the consumer price index was up 0.5% in July, after increasing 0.2% in June. The rate was forecast unchanged at 2.5% in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.05 points to 672.12
Eight of the 12 subgroups surrendered early Friday, with consumer discretionary stocks suffering 0.8%, health-care down 0.7%, and information technology off 0.5%.
The four gainers were led by gold, shining 1.4% brighter, while materials picked up 0.5%, and energy, gushing 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks opened lower on Friday, giving back some of their sharp gains from the previous session, as the Turkish lira resumed its steep decline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 32.14 points to 25,526.59, as Intel fell 1%.
The S&P 500 dropped 6.43 points to 2,834.22, as information technology lagged.
The NASDAQ fell 50.08 points to 7,756.44.
The major averages jumped on Thursday with the Dow notching its biggest one-day gain since April. The Dow and S&P 500 were on track to post weekly gains, while the NASDAQ was poised to close lower for the week.
Chinese tech giant Tencent reported earlier this week its slowest revenue growth rate since 2015, sending U.S. tech companies like Facebook, Netflix and Alphabet lower. Meanwhile, Macy's shares fell sharply on Wednesday as the company struggles to grow sales.
However, investors cheered strong results from WalMart and Cisco Systems on Thursday. Investors were also pleased after National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow confirmed earlier media reports which stated that China and the U.S. would hold a fresh round of trade discussions later on this month.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.85% from Thursday’s 2.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 55 cents at $66.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $1.20 to $1,185.20 U.S. an ounce.
