Equities in Toronto lost ground on Friday, after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed a top Iranian commander, sharply escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, but a jump in shares of energy companies limited losses.
The TSX Composite Index stayed in the red 32.32 points to wind into noon hour at 17,067.63
The Canadian dollar gained back 0.02 cents to 77.04 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Meg Energy, which jumped 30 cents, or 4.1%, to $7.64, and Baytex Energy, which rose five cents, or 2.4%, to $1.93.
Air Canada fell $1.71, or 3.4%, the most on the TSX, to $48.29, and the second biggest decliner was First Quantum Minerals down 58 cents, or 4.4%, to $12.70.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.47 points to 589.34
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as real-estate picked up 1.4%, while energy gained 1.3%, and gold was up 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by industrials, down 0.9%, while health-care and information technology each sank 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Friday after the U.S. confirmed that an air strike killed Iran’s top military commander, sending oil prices surging and hiking geopolitical concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrials dwindled 200.81 points midday to 28,667.99, off their heavy lows of the morning.
The S&P 500 slipped 18.18 points to 3,239.67,
The NASDAQ dipped 57.46 points to 9,034.73.
The U.S. announced late Thursday that it had killed Iran’s top commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad in an airstrike. Soleimani had been a key figure in Iranian politics, and his death has raised concerns over a potential retaliation from the Iranian forces.
Airline stocks fell broadly on the threat of higher oil prices. United, American and Delta all dropped more than 2%.
Energy stocks proved the lone winner on Friday morning. Concho Resources and Marathon Oil rose more than 2% each while Apache jumped traded more than 1.5% higher.
A weaker-than-expected reading on the manufacturing economy also weighed on stocks. December’s Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index came in at 47.2, the weakest in a decade and smaller than the 49 reading expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury spiked, dropping yields to 1.81% from Thursday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.49 to $62.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $24.30 at $1,552.40 U.S. an ounce.
