Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, extending losses for a second session as energy stocks weighed, with concerns around surging Omicron cases around the world keeping sentiment in check.
The S&P/TSX Composite retreated 88.63 points to begin the week’s last session at 20,651.15.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.37 cents at 77.87 cents U.S.
Converge Technology Solutions sank in the first hour 21 cents, or 2%, to $10.51, and Bombardier declined two cents, or 1.3%, to $1.51.
Cenovus Energy on Thursday agreed to sell its Tucker thermal assets in northeastern Alberta for $800 million, as the Canadian oil and gas producer looks to shed assets to repay debt. Cenovus began trading Friday down 40 cents to 2.7%, to $14.66.
JP Morgan raised the target price on Altagas to $31.00 from $30.00. Altagas gained 23 cents to $26.83.
Scotiabank initiated coverage on Trilogy Metals with a sector perform rating. Trilogy handed over a nickel, or 2.4%, to $2.00.
The rapid spread of Omicron coronavirus cases in the U.S. has forced some companies to pause plans to get workers back into office, while the number of cases in countries including Denmark, South Africa and Britain, has been doubling every two days.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported foreign investors acquired $23.9 billion of Canadian securities in October, the largest investment since April 2020. At the same time, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities by $5.4 billion, led by record purchases of non-U.S. foreign bonds.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 5.36 points to 883.09.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided Friday morning, with energy, sinking 2.4%, health-care, off 1.1%, and financials, down 1%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by gold, triumphing 1.7%, materials up 0.3%, and consumer staples ahead 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks came under pressure again on Friday as investors sold tech and bank stocks amid worries about tighter monetary policy and the ongoing pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 535.14 points, or 1.5%, at 35,362.50
The S&P 500 index ducked back 58.06, or 1.2%, to 4,610.61. Goldman Sachs lost nearly 4%, while Bank of America and JPMorgan both traded over 2% lower.
The NASDAQ sank 128.06 points at 15,052.38.
The major averages are on track to post a negative week with the NASDAQ being the biggest loser. The tech-heavy benchmark has declined nearly 4%, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were both down more than 1%.
Many megacap tech shares traded in the red. Amazon and Microsoft both lost about 1%, while Alphabet and Meta Platforms also dipped 1% each. Microsoft has lose more than 6% this week alone, and Apple is down 5% on the week.
Shares of one-time EV darling Rivian tumbled 11% Friday after the truck maker said it will fall short of its 2021 production target.
FedEx shares jumped 5% after quarterly earnings and revenue results topped expectations and it announced a $5 billion buyback. The shipper also reinstated its original 2022 EPS forecast.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.38% from Thursday’s 1.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $2.11 to $70.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices heightened $12.10 to $1,810.30 U.S. an ounce.
