Stocks in Toronto barely broke even Friday, as losses in resource stocks overcame gains in health-care.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index squeezed 5.17 points to end the day and the week at 16,020.16, still, yet another all-time record for the index.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.77 cents to 78.33 cents U.S.
Gold stocks weighed, as Barrick Gold faded 22 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.86, while Kinross Gold lost four cents to $5.06.
The materials group, home to precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost ground, as Teck Resources declined 22 cents to $26.66. Western Forest Products slumped eight cents, or 3%, to $2.61 after reporting a weaker-than-expected third quarter.
Consumer discretionary stocks dawdled as well, as Canadian Tire lost 74 cents to $156.28, while Magna International slid 43 cents to $70.33.
Health-care stocks jumped as Canopy Growth thundered higher 79 cents, or 4.9%, to $16.92, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals triumphed 51 cents, or 3.6%, to $14.69
The energy group resumed climbing, as Parkland Fuel jumped $1.29, or 5.1%, to $26.64 after reporting third-quarter results, while Canadian Natural Resources flourished 77 cents, or 1.8%, to $46.04.
Among utilities, Fortis grew 67 cents, or 1.4%, to $47.50, while Hydro One gathered eight cents to $22.69.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported the economy created 35,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.3%.
The agency said employment gains in the month were driven by full-time work (which improved 89,000), while 53,000 fewer people worked part-time
Meanwhile, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world totaled $3.2 billion in September, essentially unchanged from the previous month.
Exports were down 0.3% on lower passenger car and light truck exports, while imports decreased 0.3% on lower prices.
The U.S. Commerce Department, accusing Canada of unfairly subsidizing and dumping softwood lumber in the United States, on Thursday set final duties on imports and Canada said it would appeal the decision, which comes during tense NAFTA trade talks.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.27 points to 791.98
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, with gold down 1.1%, and materials slumping 0.8%, and consumer discretionary issues skidding 0.5%
The four gainers were led by health-care, better by 1.9%, while energy gushed 1.3%, and utilities improved 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed at record highs on Friday on the back of a sharp rally in Apple shares. The tech-heavy NASDAQ index also got a lift from Qualcomm, which jumped on reports it may be acquired by Broadcom.
The Dow Jones industrial average recovered 22.93 points on top of Thursday’s record high to 23,539.19, with Apple leading advancers.
The S&P 500 moved higher 7.99 points to 2,587.84, another all-time peak, with information technology leading advancers. Qualcomm was the best performer on the index.
The NASDAQ regained 49.49 points to 6,764.44, an all-time high. Apple shares rose more than 2% after the tech giant reported quarterly earnings that blew expectations out of the water.
The company also issued strong guidance for the current quarter. Apple's market cap came within $6 billion of reaching $900 billion.
Qualcomm, meanwhile, rose more than 12% as multiple reports said Broadcom was considering acquiring the chipmaker. Bloomberg News reported the deal could be worth more than $100 billion.
Friday was also a big day for Wall Street on the data front. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs last month. Economists expected a gain of 310,000 jobs. The report also showed average hourly earnings remained flat for October.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.33% from Thursday’s 2.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices notched up $1.12 a barrel to $55.66 U.S.
Gold prices lost $7.30 an ounce to $1,270.80 U.S.
