Equities in Canada’s largest market moved downward on Friday and was on track for its fifth straight day of declines, as mining and energy stocks dominated the retreat and with investors cautious over the impact of Hurricane Irma, which was headed toward Florida.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 33.79 points to greet noon at 14,990.74
The Canadian dollar tailed off 0.04 cents to 82.45 cents U.S., after several consecutive upward days.
The five biggest drags on the index were mining stocks, with Teck Resources falling 4.1% to $28.61 and First Quantum Minerals off 3.5% to $13.81. Hudbay Minerals plunged 11.4% to $9.52 after the company announced a $242-million bought deal financing.
Energy stocks retreated also, as Encana Corp was down 2.2% to $11.36.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported Friday that the economy created 22,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2%, matching the most recent low of October 2008, the month prior to the 2008-2009 labour-market downturn.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.32 points to 770.73
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were down by noon, as materials plummeted 1.4%, energy slid 1.2%, and gold was paler 0.9%.
The four gainers were led upward by a 0.8% surge in health-care stocks, while consumer discretionary and financials issues each gained 0.3%. Prices for telecoms were unchanged by noon hour ET.
ON WALLSTREET
Major U.S. equity indexes headed toward weekly declines as Hurricane Irma barreled toward the east coast and weak interest rates hampered financial stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 40.83 points to 21,825.61, heading for a 170-point week-to-date loss. Friday, Goldman Sachs and Boeing contributed the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 lost 1.75 points to 2,463.35, with energy and consumer staples contributing the largest losses.
The NASDAQ retreated 26.27 points to 6,371.60, with Apple and Cisco both down.
Shares of major insurance companies were set for weekly losses ahead of Irma's landfall in Florida. Both XL Group and RenaissanceRe traded higher, but remained 6.7% and 7.9% lower respectively since Tuesday.
Restaurant companies including Fiesta Restaurant Group and Ruth's Hospitality Group, which operates Ruth's Chris Steak House, also posted week-to-date declines. Outback Steakhouse owner Bloomin' Brands fell 3% since Tuesday.
Home improvement and materials companies surged ahead of the storm's projected destruction in Florida. Home Depot climbed 1% and Lowe's added 0.6%, while Lumber Liquidators' stock added another 1.9% to its weekly gains.
Bank stocks also caught a breather after falling throughout the week, as demand for safe haven assets steadily increased while investors grew more doubtful over a hike in interest rates by year's end.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup both traded over 0.5% higher, paring back week-to-date losses. Experts say Wall Street now sees just 34% likelihood for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Hurricane Irma was downgraded from a category 5 to a category 4 early on Friday, but the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned that the storm will "devastate" parts of the country. The storm lashed the Caribbean with devastating winds and torrential rain, leaving behind 14 deaths and a swathe of catastrophic destruction
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note regained lost strength, lowering yields to Thursday’s 2.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tumbled 88 cents to $48.21
Gold prices hiked $1.90 to $1,352.20 U.S. an ounce.
