The Toronto stock market listed lower Friday amid data showing another month of strong job creation in Canada.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 41.46 points to close the day and week at 11,694.71
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.11 cents to 99.92 cents U.S.
The losses capped a week of steady losses that are partly a result of political chaos in Greece following inconclusive elections last Sunday – votes that produced no clear winner and so far have led to unsuccessful negotiations to form a government.
Blue chips helped provide lift to the TSX, as the financial sector rose.
National Bank gained 16 cents to $73.47 and Sun Life Financial ran ahead 72 cents to $23.27.
Among industrial stocks, Canadian National Railways was ahead 10 cents to $80.91.
TSX commodity stocks recovered from early sharp losses that followed the release of data showing growth in the Chinese economy slowing faster than previously believed.
Data released Friday showed that industrial production rose 9.3% from a year earlier in April, slowing from a nearly 12% increase in March.
Another report showed inflation also eased, to 3.4% in April from 3.6% the month before, giving the government greater leeway to ease policy to boost growth.
China’s economy grew 8.1% in the first quarter of the year, a still robust rate but its slowest pace since 2009.
The energy sector turned positive, while commodities backed off following the release of the Chinese data. Canadian Natural Resources gave back 12 cents to $31.03.
Metal prices also retreated with July copper off four cents to $3.65 U.S. a pound. China is the world’s biggest consumer of the metal which is viewed as an economic barometer as it is used in so many different industries. The base metals sector was ahead, as Ivanhoe Mines declined 49 cents to $9.50 while Inmet Mining rose $1.13 to $47.02.
The gold sector lost ground and Barrick Gold Corp. surrendered 67 cents to $37.14.
In earnings news, TMX Group Inc. reported a 10% drop in first-quarter net profits to $56.8 million Friday as the operator of Canada’s major financial markets saw a decline in quarterly revenues. Its shares were up three cents at $47.28
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that employment increased by 58,000 in April, mostly in full-time work. However, with more people searching for work, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 7.3%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 9.73 points to 1,345.58, while the Nasdaq Canada gained 1.13 points to 380.50.
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were on the downside by day’s end, with gold sinking 2.1%, materials off 1.5%, and global base metals down 1.4%.
The four gainers were led by real-estate, up 0.4%, telecoms, ahead 0.3%, and financials, better by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were mixed Friday as investors looked past a $2-billion U.S. trading loss at JPMorgan and focused on consumer confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrials sifted off 34.44 points to end the day at 12,820.60
The S&P 500 faded four points to 1,353.99. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index moved forward 0.18 to 2,933.82.
The major indexes were all on track to end lower for the week, the Dow headed for a weekly loss of 1.7%.
Stocks opened lower but rebounded after a key index of consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in May to a four-year high. Investors also welcomed a report that showed inflation remained subdued in April.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase fell 9% after the firm disclosed late Thursday a $2-billion U.S. loss. CEO Jamie Dimon cited "errors" and "bad judgment" in trades meant to hedge risk.
The news raised questions about whether conditions since April would cause more not-yet-reported losses at other big banks. Shares of Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were under pressure.
The technology sector was supported by shares of chip-maker Nvidia, which rose nearly 7% on better-than-expected quarterly results.
Shares of upscale retailer Nordstrom fell after it reported earnings of 70 cents U.S. a share, which fell five cents short of forecasts, despite revenue that was roughly in line with forecasts.
U.S. shares of Sony fell after it sank 6.5% in Tokyo to a multi-decade low in its home market. Sony reported lower earnings after the close of the market in Tokyo on Thursday, which hit before the New York exchange opened.
Greek politicians are still struggling to form a coalition government, which makes the future of austerity measures and a European bailout of its debt unclear.
Spain announced a new round of bank reforms Friday, including independent audits of all Spanish banking assets, and requirements for more reserves to protect against real estate loan losses, in an effort to assure investors about the banks' viability. The rules come two days after Spain partially nationalized one of its largest banks.
The yield on the Spanish 10-year bond edged back above the 6% benchmark that raises alarms with investors.
Meanwhile, further worries about weaker-than-expected economic growth in China could weigh on markets. A report from China Friday showed an unexpected drop in the rate of industrial production growth, which could feed fears of a so-called hard landing for the world's number-two economy.
On the economic slate, lower energy prices took wholesale prices down 0.2% in April, according to the U.S. Labor Department's producer price index. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected prices to be unchanged from March.
But stripping out volatile food and energy prices left core wholesale prices up 0.2%, which matched forecasts.
The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for May rose to 77.8 from 76.4 in April. It was the highest level since January 2008. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com predicted the index to come in at 75.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground pushing the yield down to 1.84% from Thursday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell back $1.25 to $95.83 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery tumbled $12.90 to $1,582.60 U.S. an ounce.
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