Canada's main stock index dwindled late Friday morning, hit by losses in miners after gold prices dropped more than 1% and as a drop in oil prices triggered a selloff in energy shares.
The S&P/TSX index came off its lows of the morning, but remained 51.33 points below breakeven to move into lunch hour at 16,739.07
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.025 cents at 75.62 cents U.S.
Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold slumbered 41 cents, or 6.1%, to $6.33, while Kirkland Lake Gold faded $2.63, or 4.2%, to $60.28.
Among metals, First Majestic Silver took a dive of 51 cents, or 3.9%, to $12.63. Labrador Iron Ore lost $1.11, or 4.3%, to $24.73.
In consumer staples, Alimentation Couche Tard dropped $1.29 per share, or 1.6%, to $80.71.
Energy tried to shine a light on the proceedings, as Nuvista Energy tallied 12 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.59, while Birchcliff Energy picked up five cents, or 2.3%, to $2.21.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 6.26 points to 568.57
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups plunged into the red in the first hour of trading, as gold dulled in price 2.4%, while health-care docked 2.3%, and materials shed 1.6%
The pair of gainers consisted of energy stocks, eking up 0.4%, and financials, edging up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks reversed early gains on Friday after a report that the White House is considering limits on U.S. investment into China, aggravating the protracted trade dispute between the globe’s two largest economies.
The Dow Jones Industrials climbed 108.10 points to 26,918.52
The S&P 500 dipped 7.52 points to 2,970.10
The NASDAQ Composite fell 46.10 points to 7,999
The S&P 500 remained on track for week-to-date losses, set to end the week down 0.25%, while the NASDAQ looked set to say goodbye to 1%,
The optimism among equity traders Friday morning came with trade talks between the U.S. and China set to resume Oct. 10-11 in Washington, D.C.. News of a scheduled meeting added to Wall Street’s conviction that the trade war between the two economic superpowers has eased in recent weeks.
Wells Fargo announced Friday that it has named Bank of New York Mellon Chairman and CEO Charles Scharf as its new chief executive officer. Scharf will assume his new role at the head of the nation’s fourth-largest bank on Oct. 21 and will represent the bank’s first permanent CEO since Tim Sloan resigned in March.
Wells Fargo’s stock rose more than 4% Friday morning following the announcement.
Shares of chipmaker Micron fell 9.8% after it reported first-quarter guidance that fell short of analyst expectations.
The Boise, Idaho-based technology company also said its sales to Huawei "were down meaningfully" from anticipated levels prior to the Trump administration’s move to add the Chinese telecommunications giant to the U.S. Entity List. The White House’s decision effectively bars Huawei from doing business with American companies.
U.S. consumer spending slowed more than expected in August, according to a government report released Friday. Personal consumption expenditures, also known as household spending, edged up an adjusted 0.1% in August from July, when spending rose 0.5%.
The print represents consumer spending’s softest read since February and could suggest to policymakers that a critical driver of U.S. GDP growth is decelerating. Consumer spending accounts for more than 66% of total economic output in the United States.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to 1.7%, from Thursday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 43 cents to $55.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $12.10 to $1,503.10 U.S. an ounce.
