Canada's main stock index straddled the flatline on Friday, as shares of energy companies and the heavyweight financial sector dropped.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 6.28 points to open the last session before a long weekend at 16,012.95
The Canadian dollar slid 0.04 cents to 77.35 cents U.S.
Canadian markets are closed Monday for Thanksgiving Day.
Precision Drilling Corp said it would buy smaller rival Trinidad Drilling Ltd in a deal valued at $1.03 billion, trumping a hostile bid from Ensign Energy Services.
Precision shares dwindled 22 cents, or 5%, to $4.22.
Shares in Intu Properties soared after a consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management said it was considering a bid for the shopping centre owner.
Brookfield shares were up 31 cents to $56.63.
CIBC cut the target price on Cardinal Energy to $6.75 from $7.00. Cardinal shares lost 12 cents, or 2.3%, to $5.13.
Canaccord Genuity cut the target price on Source Energy Services to $6.00 from $8.00. Source shares collapsed 48 cents, or 11.7%, to $3.63.
CIBC cut the target price on Winpak to $54.00 from $55.00. Winpak shares dropped 33 cents to $46.35.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 63,000 jobs in September, driven by an increase in part-time employment. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%.
Elsewhere, the agency said its Canada's merchandise trade balance with the world was in a surplus position for the first time since December 2016. The $526-million surplus followed a $189-million deficit in July. Imports fell 2.5% and exports were down 1.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved forward 3.9 points to 706.93
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower in the first hour, with health-care sprouting 1.4%, while industrials improved 1%, and gold shone brighter 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed most by financials, real-estate and consumer discretionary stocks, each down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were fairly static in the first hour on Friday, after the release of mixed employment data jolted interest rates higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 19.82 points to 26,627.48, as J.P. Morgan Chase outperformed.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.11 points to 2,901.72, as financials gained 0.4%.
The NASDAQ declined 21.28 points to 7,858.23
Bank shares rose slightly on Friday. J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America both climbed 0.4% while Citigroup advanced 0.3%.
Snap shares rose 2.6% after CEO Evan Spiegel set a profitability goal for the company for 2019. A memo from the company also outlined some of the company's problems with its app and apologized for its redesign.
The U.S. economy added 134,000 in September, well below the expected gain of 185,000. However, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 1969. Job gains for August also received a sharp upward revision to an addition of 270,000 jobs from 201,000. Wages, meanwhile, grew by 2.8% last month on a year-over-year basis to match expectations.
Other economic data released Friday include the U.S. trade deficit, which widened to $53.2 billion in August even amid an ongoing trade spat between the States and some of its key trade partners.
Over the past 12 months, the deficit is up $31 billion or 8.6%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 3.21% from Thursday’s 3.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 14 cents at $74.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.30 to $1,206.90 U.S. an ounce.
