Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, a day after posting its worst session in nearly a month, with energy and materials stocks tracking weakness in commodities.
The S&P/TSX Composite staggered 137 points to open Friday at 18,086.54.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.27 cents to 79.01 cents U.S.
MAG Silver fell two dollars, or 7.5%, the most on the TSX, to $24.60, and the second-biggest decliner was Pembina Pipeline, down $2.11, or 6.1%, to $32.60 after the oil producer said it could no longer predict a start date for the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export plant in Oregon.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Aecon Group, which jumped 38 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.74 after the construction firm
reported upbeat fourth-quarter earnings, and pot producer Aphria, which rose nine cents to $23.05.
CIBC raised the rating on Boralex to outperform from neutral. Boralex gained 90 cents, or 2.2%, to $42.59.
JP Morgan cut the rating on GFL Environmental to neutral from overweight. GFL ditched 58 cents, or 1.5%, to $38.58.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on WSP Global to buy from hold. WSP gained $1.65, or 1.5%, to $111.89.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported its raw material price index was up 5.7% last month, driven primarily by higher prices for crude energy products, while its industrial product price index rose 2.0% in January, mainly as a result of higher prices for lumber and other wood products, as well as energy and petroleum products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 30.12 points, or 2.9%, to 1,002.16
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, with materials sliding 3.3%, gold down 2.8%, and energy staggering 2.7%.
Only communications managed some gains, but only 0.02% at that.
ON WALLSTREET
Tech stocks gave up their earlier gains and the broader market came under pressure on Friday as Wall Street struggled to shake off fears of rapidly rising rates.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 307.01 points, or 1%, to 31,095.
The S&P 500 forfeited 11.15 points to 3,818.19
The NASDAQ Composite recovered from its recent slump, picking up 10.26 points to 13,129.69.
The S&P 500 is down 2% so far this week, while the NASDA has lost 5%. The Dow is down 0.3%.
Some of the Big Tech stocks lost ground after leading the market earlier. Alphabet and Amazon turned red, while Apple and Microsoft were off its highs.
Energy has gained 6.8% this week alone, the biggest winner by far amid expectations that consumers around the world will soon be driving and flying as they were prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Industrials and financials are the only two other sectors in the green week to date.
The weakness elsewhere came even after the personal consumption expenditures price index that the Federal Reserve watches indicated subdued inflation in January. The PCE index rose 0.3% for the month, slightly ahead of the 0.2% expectation but was up just 1.5% year over year, matching Dow Jones estimates.
Economists and investment managers say the bond market is reacting to positive economics as vaccines are rolled out and Gross Domestic Product forecasts improve, which should benefit corporate profits. But the move could also signal faster-than-expected inflation ahead.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday’s 1.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ducked $1.66 to $61.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices plunged $51.60 to $1,723.80
