Stocks in Canada’s largest market remained lower on Friday in a broad retreat as a string of gold miners and retailers pulled back a day after the index hit a three-week high.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gave back 37.54 points to greet noon at 15,174.33
The Canadian dollar added 0.75 cents to 80.87 cents U.S.
The index is still on track for a 0.9% gain on the week
Gold miners weighed even as the price of bullion held firm after U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 0.9% to $22.28 and Agnico Eagle Mines lost 1.5% to $63.08.
Groceries retailers, under pressure after Amazon cut prices on some items at its just-acquired Whole Foods Market chain, also lost ground. Loblaw Cos fell 2% to $66.37 and Metro Inc was down 1.5% to $40.62.
The most influential gainers included Toronto-Dominion Bank, which extended gains from Thursday after reporting strong quarterly results. It was up 0.5% to $67.39.
BRP Inc, the maker of Ski-Doo vehicles, advanced nearly 1% to $41.87 after reporting earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Alaris Royalty Corp jumped 8.7% to $22.61 after the financing company said it had funded a new partner and CIBC analysts raised their price target on the stock to $23.00.
On the economic schedule, the seasonally-adjusted IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 54.6 in August, to remain above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the 18th consecutive month. Although down slightly from 55.5 in July, the index signaled a rate of improvement that remained above the long-run series average
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved lower 1.65 points to 775.20
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower Friday, with health-care and consumer staples each off 1%, gold down 0.7%.
The lone gainer Friday morning was in energy, ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Friday after the release of disappointing jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 60.27 points to 22,008.37, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. The index also rose above 22,000 for the first time since mid-August.
The S&P 500 tacked on 6.78 points to 2,478.43, with financials leading six sectors higher.
The NASDAQ forged a gain of 8.85 points to 6,437.51, as tech stocks slipped.
The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists expected 180,000 jobs to have been added last month.
The BLS also said, however, that wages grew at an annualized rate of 2.5%, less than expected.
Investors were closely watching out for the report as they looked for clues about the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move.
The Fed is set to meet later this month with many investors expecting the central bank to begin rolling off its massive bonds portfolio. However, most investors are expecting the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged for the rest of 2017.
Other data released Friday included construction spending for July, which hit a nine-month low, and national factory activity for August, which expanded more than expected.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note trailed Thursday, boosting yields to 2.14% from Thursday’s 2.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated 15 cents to $47.08 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained seven dollars to $1,329.20 U.S. an ounce.
