\Canada's main stock index opened lower on Friday, dragged down by falling oil prices, while investors awaited Washington's response to China tightening its grip over Hong Kong.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 59.66 points to begin the week’s and month’s last session at 15,203.07
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.01 at 72.59 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp has offered an extra 15% stake in its Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea to local landowners, according to a letter from its CEO, in a bid to break an impasse with the national government over the mine's future.
Barrick shares garnered 41 cents, or 1.2%, to $33.42.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce took a mark-to-market trading loss of $88.2 million in one day in March due mainly to volatility in the gold market, the bank said in its second-quarter earnings report on Thursday.
Commerce shares doffed 68 cents to $69.26.
RBC cut the rating on BRP to sector perform from outperform. BRP shares slid 70 cents, or 1.4%, to $48.17.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Hardwoods Distribution to $21.00 from $18.50. Hardwoods shares advanced 12 cents to $14.29.
CIBC raised the target price on Vermilion Energy to $8.00 from $7.00. Vermilion shares faltered 30 cents, or 4.2%, to $6.88.
On matters macroeconomic, Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index fell 2.3% in April, mostly because of lower prices for refined petroleum products., while its raw materials price index decreased 13.4%, during the same month, primarily because of a drop in crude oil prices.
Our country’s gross domestic product fell 2.1% in the first quarter, owing to reduced household spending and widespread shutdowns of non-essential businesses in March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On a monthly basis, GDP dropped 7.2% in March, the largest monthly decline since the series started in 1961, as almost all industrial sectors were down.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.59 points to open at 548.21.
All but three of the12 TSX subgroups were lower, with health-care issues plunging 7.8%, while energy stocks lost 2.1%, and real-estate dipped 1.5%.
The three gainers were gold, brighter by 1.4%, materials, up 1%, and information technology, better by 0.9%>
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were lower on Friday as traders braced for an upcoming news conference on U.S.-China relations from President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrials staggered 129.73 points to 25,270.91
The S&P 500 subtracted 12.43 points to 3,017.30
The NASDAQ Composite retreated 13.36 points to 9,355.63.
The major averages entered the session up solidly for the week. The Dow and S&P 500 are up more than 2.7% each week to date while the NASDAQ has advanced 0.5%. That weekly advance comes as traders increase bets on a successful reopening of the economy.
Stocks are also up sharply for the month, with the Dow and S&P 500 gaining over 3% each while the NASDAQ advanced 5.2% in May.
Sentiment was also muted after Salesforce issued disappointing guidance for the second quarter. The company expects earnings ranging between 66 cents a share and 67 cents a share. Analysts expected earnings guidance of 74 cents per share. Salesforce shares dropped 4.4%.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo led bank stocks lower, falling more than 2% each. Citigroup lost 3% and JPMorgan Chase dipped 2%.
Trump said Thursday afternoon he would hold the news conference, knocking stocks down from solid gains. That announcement came after China approved a national security bill for Hong Kong that experts warn could endanger the city’s “one party, two systems” principle.
That principle allows for additional freedoms that mainland China residents don’t have. However, there was no time scheduled for the news conference on Friday.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.67% from Thursday’s 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 45 cents to $33.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $15.20 to $1,743.50 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Swoon on Trump Conference, Still Headed for Weekly Gain
