Stocks in Canada’s largest centre moved backward on Friday, after three straight sessions of gains, as sentiment was weighed by fears over the fate of debt-ridden Chinese developer Evergrande.
The TSX Composite shed 67.05 points to open Friday at 20,394.88.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.22 cents to 78.76 cents U.S.
SNC-Lavalin Group said on Thursday Quebec's chief prosecutor had offered to negotiate a remediation agreement with the company in a case related to alleged fraud against the Canadian government about two decades ago.
SNC shares gained 25 cents to $36.35.
TD Securities resumed coverage on Docebo with a buy rating. Docebo shares started Friday down $3.37, or 3.2%, to $103.53.
TD then cut the price target on Saputo to $39.00 from $41.00. Saputo dipped 15 cents to $32.22.
CIBC raised the target price on Tourmaline Oil to $55.00 from $47.50. Tourmaline shares gained 35 cents to $43.22.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 2.02 points to 879.96.
All but three of the 12 TSX sectors were in the red to begin Friday, with health-care waning 2%, information technology faltering 1.3%, and utilities off 0.5%.
The three gainers were energy, up 0.8%, gold, ahead 0.3%. and materials inching upward 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were near flat on Friday, wrapping up a volatile week on Wall Street. A move by China to ban cryptocurrencies weighed on the technology sector and Nike shares fell as supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic hit the sneaker giant.
The blue-chip index gained 32.49 points to 34,797.31
The S&P 500 lost 1.01 points to 4,447.97
The NASDAQ Composite stumbled 73.37 points to 14,978.87.
Bitcoin dropped 7% and ether lost nearly 10% in reaction. Crypto-exchange Coinbase lost more than 2%. Robinhood, which last quarter got more than half of its transaction-related revenue from crypto, shed over 2%. Square was off by more than 1%.
Meanwhile Nike validated the fears of investors worried about the pandemic wreaking havoc with supply chains and raising costs for companies, especially multinationals. Nike shares fell over 6% after the sneaker giant lowered its fiscal 2022 outlook because of a prolonged production shutdown in Vietnam, labor shortages and lengthy transit times. Nike expects full-year sales to rise at a mid-single-digit pace, compared to low double-digit growth it forecast before.
The company also reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts’ expectations due to softening demand in North America as the delta variant flared up. Other apparel makers and retailers fell. Under Armour shed about 2%.
It’s been a topsy-turvy week for markets. Stocks staged a two-day relief rally beginning on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled no imminent removal of its ultra-easy monetary policy. Investors also bet that the debt crisis of China’s real estate giant Evergrande wouldn’t trigger a ripple effect across global markets.
A crackdown on bitcoin by China was hurting market sentiment overnight, especially with technology shares that depend on crypto-related revenue. China’s central bank declared all cryptocurrency related activities illegal on Friday. Overseas crypto exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal, the PBOC said.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys faded, boosting yields to 1.45% from Thursday’s 1.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 34 cents to $73.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices deducted $4.30 to $1,746.20 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Flat as Indexes Wrap up Volatile Week
